THE provincial officer of the National Commission on the Indigenous Peoples-Davao (NCIP-Davao) in Davao City revealed that they could hardly say that the sale of lots within the Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title of Marilog District has totally stopped but with the intervention of the Davao City Government making it as a security issue, they are certain that the malpractice is minimized.
Speaking during the Indigenous Peoples Mandatory Representative First Summit press briefing at the Apo View Hotel in Davao City, Atty. Ronnie Bolutano, provincial legal officer of the NCIP for Davao City bared that they are now in the period of enforcing the law, despite the mushrooming of various resorts in the area.
He said the problem with preparing a case in Marilog, is that the probable witnesses tend to withdraw on the last minute.
Bolutano said witnesses are no longer interested to file a complaint for fear of their lives.
“Pamilyar man mo sa kasaysayan sa Marilog. Pipila na IP leaders ang gipatay,” he said.
Bolutano noted it is a big challenge for the NCIP to pursue the case against those involved in the selling of lots within the CADT areas.
He thanked the government in Davao City for positioning against the sale of lots within the CADT areas in Marilog District.
“Mayor Sebastian Duterte has ordered all the barangay captains not to join in the sale of lots, to prevent the semblance of legality on its sale,” Bolutano said.
He surmised that migrants who would see persons in government during the sell might believe their documents are legal and valid because of their presence.
Bolutano thanked the City Government of Davao for intervening by giving solutions to the problem.
He claimed that the malpractice started during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 where resorts were mushrooming.
Interior Local Government Sec. Benjamin Abalos, Jr. who attended the 1st IPMR Summit in Davao Region, reiterated the advisory that lots within the certificate of ancestral domain titles are never for sale, and anyone who defies it is punishable under the law. (PIA-DAVAO)