MASSIVE LANDGRABBING AT THE BEACH

The process has began.

An executive order of Mayor Alipio Fernandez  Jr. directing  the City Assessors Office to cancel  all tax declaration certificates it issued in the past covering portions of  foreshore lands and public lands adjacent and within Tondaligan Park is now being implemented to the letter.

This was assured by Officer-in Charge CityAssessor Virginia Deocares and Alan Dale Zarate, local assessment operations officer, who said their offices are now about to complete its verification and research on all TDCs it issued before finally cleansing the list.

Both said they are now conducting table analysis of all the data gathered per parcel, to be followed soon of all the lands covered, by actual field verification especially in the light of reports that there were structures that were already put up.

Zarate said they intend to give Mayor Fernandez the list of TDCs for clarification and assessment before the end of the year and before the actual cancellations are undertaken.

“We are complying with the order of the mayor but we are careful in proceeding with it, clarified Zarate, emphasizing that haste might make waste.”

HISTORY

The city assessor’s office is looking into the history of each parcel before cleansing the list and eventually cancelling those that are clearly spurious claims.

Zarate clarified that per Executive Order No. 66, series of 2007, it is clear that only TDCs issued on foreshore lands and public lands will be cancelled but not accredited lands near banks of rivers.

He cited the TDC issued in the name of Councilor Alfredo Quinto and his wife Placida covering accreted lands near the Mangueragday River in Bonuan Binloc but which was originally claimed by a Teofilo and Magdalena Querol.

From the documents, it appeared that the Querols sold their claims to the Quintos as payment for debts.

In the case of retired city school official Leon Palaganas, his TDC secured in 2004 was verified to have been issued over parts of the salvage zone and public lands and, therefore, covered by the mayor’s executive order.

Another case whose TDC is covered by the executive order is that of former Bonuan Gueset Barangay Captain Rico Mejia in Bonuan Gueset. It was not stated, however, when he obtained his tax declaration although the same became effective in year 1990.

It was verified that Mejia paid all his taxes due since 1990.

Deocares said the parameters  used by her office in the verification are the TDC number, declared claimants, address, location of property, area, boundaries, classification, assessed value, annual tax due and latest tax payment, date issued, previous classification  and others.

All these will establish when these TDCs were actually issued, when the same became effective and their present and original classifications.

Zarate admitted there are claimants who executed affidavits that they had been in long possession of the areas they are claiming, thus their reason for securing TDCs.

But TDCs are not proofs of ownership of land but only as proofs of payment of taxes. However, these can also lead to full ownership if the declarants regularly paid their corresponding taxes given the legal circumstances of their acquisition.— LM

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