Ancestral land title application in Palawan marred with delays

Photo by Angelica Paller

By DOMINIC GUTOMAN
Bulatlat.com

MANILA – The application for Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title (CADT) in the ancestral lands of Mariahangin, Palawan, has been put to halt nearly 20 years since it was filed.

“Lately, there has been a petition submitted to our office through Atty. Ortega, to cancel your application because there was ‘no basis’ [to the claim],” said Jansen Jontilla of National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) to the residents in Filipino during a recent dialogue between the residents and the government agencies on January 7.

The alleged legal titles of the nine land owners were retrieved to the Land Registration Authority (LRA) in Manila, facilitated by Sambilog – Balik Bugsuk Movement and Pambansang Kilusan ng mga Samahang Magsasaka (PAKISAMA).

The dialogue was attended by 12 residents of Mariahangin, Bugsuk, Palawan, and representatives from the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) Palawan, NCIP – Palawan Office, Palawan Philippine National Police (PNP), and Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG).

“They said that our application won’t progress because there were two claimants. It’s complicated. The gist of their response is that whoever has the money will be the one to have an advantage in processing land title,” Angelica Nasiron, one of the Mariahangin indigenous residents in the dialogue, said in Filipino.

CADT refers to the title to “formally recognize the rights of possession and ownership of indigenous peoples,” however, it has been criticized in the past years for being “tedious, expensive, and problematic.”

The Molbog indigenous peoples of Mariahangin submitted a CADT application to NCIP in 2005, in an attempt to secure their rights over ancestral lands and waters. NCIP confirmed their application, together with four other applications for ancestral domains in Bugsuk, Palawan.

Edmon Gastanes, also from NCIP said that there are 156 applications for ancestral domains in Palawan. “We prioritize communities that are not disorganized,” he said.

The application of Mariahangin residents is stuck in the first phase, out of eight phases to secure the CADT. The overall procedures are delineated in the NCIP’s administrative order, covering 60 sections, and additional 50 sections for the other processes (e.g. accreditation of geodetic engineers).

What made the claims of the residents more challenging is the access to basic legal documents. Mariahangin is under the jurisdiction of Barangay Bugsuk, but it is an adjacent island separate from Bugsuk.

Nearly 20 years in the making, their application for CADT remains uncertain. Current Molbog indigenous leaders said that ten of their elders have already died waiting in vain.

Nasiron said that Mariahangin residents like her have to acquire clearance from Makati to get their barangay documents: indigency, cedula, among others. Since Bugsuk is largely a private island, residents have to seek permission from the private entities first to get their documents in the barangay, which is situated in the Bugsuk island.

Once they get the clearance, Mariahangin residents will then claim the documents in Bugsuk island. The DILG, through Virgilio L. Tagle, acknowledged that this remains a challenge even for the government since they cannot simply go to the islands without permission from the private entities operating in the Bugsuk.

“We have two lawyers for our disputes. One for the processing of our land title, and another one for the defense of the grave coercion criminal charges filed against us,” said Nasiron.

There are 10 indigenous and non-indigenous residents of Mariahangin currently facing “grave coercion” complaints filed by Caesar M. Ortega, former NCIP director for the Ancestral Domain Office (ADO) and former officer-in-charge executive director, who identifies himself as the “authorized representative of the nine (9) land owners of the nine titled properties situated within Bowen Island (Sitio Mariahangin).”

Residents also asked the present government agencies to intervene in the cases of harassment. Marilyn Pelayo, an indigenous resident in Mariahangin and a representative from Sambilog – Balik Bugsuk Movement (Mariahangin Chapter) in the dialogue, urged them, “While the title is being processed, maybe something can be done to stop them from harassing us. That’s what’s causing us hardship. We can’t make a living.” (RVO)

Share This Post