Land claimants withdraw

AFTER months of procrastination, the Dagupan City government finally showed some teeth by clearing a large portion of the accreted area in Bonuan Binloc of claimants now preparing to take possession of the property they bought from local sellers.

Demolished in a two-day operation were temporary sheds, fences and markers put up by different individuals who are now all claiming portions of the accreted lands in Bonuan Binloc.

The demolition was carried out by teams from the city engineer’s office and officials and barangay tanod of Bonuan Binloc, who were given security by the police’s Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) pursuant to a memorandum issued by Mayor Alipio Fernandez Jr.

All the materials seized from these operations were deposited inside the Bonuan Binloc barangay hall compound for safe-keeping. Without the temporary markers and fences, the buyers are now unable to determine the precise location of their claimed properties.

A lawyer for some of the claimants reportedly tried to stop the dismantling by impressing upon the members of the demolition team that the structures were standing on accreted lands owned by the state and not the city government.

Bonuan Binloc Barangay Captain Ronaldo Torio however, told the PUNCH that the demolition team, aware of the petition for the issuance of a restraining order filed against the city government and the Dagupan Electric Corporation, did not touch the concrete fences and other permanent structures put up by other individuals.

“That is up for the court to decide”, he said.

Thus, spared from demolition were the fences set up by Calasiao Mayor Roy Macanlalay and three others who filed a civil case against the city government and Decorp.

Torio said most of those whose structures destroyed were from Baguio City, Nueva Ecija and Isabela. These claimants reportedly bought their ‘rights’ for P80, 000 to P120, 000 from still unidentified sellers.

Fernandez issued the memorandum in the face of reports that unscrupulous land sellers have intensified their illegal activities despite billboards put up in Bonuan Binloc warning that no portion of the accreted land there is for sale.

The partial clearing of the accreted land was effected even if the City Assessor’s Office has yet to cancel the tax declarations of claimants per an executive order issued in December last year by Fernandez.

The accreted area was reportedly parceled into different lots by one Arnel Boado, a geodetic engineer reportedly identified with the former barangay captain of Bonuan Binloc, Pedro Gonzales.

It was during Gonzales’ long term as barangay captain that the selling of portions of the accreted lands was intensified, sources told The PUNCH learned.

“We know who the land sellers are. They are actually from our barangay. Now that we have already demolished the buyers’ markers, the buyers will likely go after the sellers,” Torio said.

Meanwhile, the mayor warned that any new structure, temporary or permanent, that will be erected will immediately be demolished.—LM

Land claimants withdraw
case, to file new one

THE city government scored a moral victory of sort when the petitioners in a civil case filed against the Task Force on Housing and Urban Poor Resettlement and the Dagupan Electric Corporation withdrew their complaints before the sala of Regional Trial Court Judge Genoveva Coching-Maramba.

According to City Legal Officer George Mejia, who represented the task force and the city government in the proceedings, the withdrawal was made during the last hearing of the petition on May 7 at Maramba’s sala on account of legal defects in the petition.

“It was still a victory of sort for the city government when the petitioners erred in listing down the members of the task force as defendants instead of the city government,” said Mejia.

However, the petitioners, namely Roy Macanlalay, mayor of Calasiao; Mario Sandoval, Dave Calaguio and Juanito Torio, served notice before the court that they will re-file the case.

The civil case was filed by the petitioners to restrain the Dagupan Electric Corporation (Decorp) from carrying out the order of the task force to disconnect electricity to their respective establishments.

The city government insisted that the structures built were illegal since these are on public land.

The task force is headed by City Engineer Virginia Rosario.

The four petitioners were represented in the case by lawyers Juan Siapno, Teofilo Gallang and Feliciano Bautista, national president of the Integrated Bar of thePhilippines and former mayor of Sta. Barbara.

Meanwhile, Mejia confirmed that the clearing of illegal structures in the accreted lands in Bonuan Binloc stemmed from reports that unscrupulous persons have intensified their squatting activities again, particularly in the past three weeks when most city officials were pre-occupied with the Dagupan Bangus Festival.

He said that the move was ordered by Mayor Alipio Fernandez Jr. because the continued presence of the temporary markers would encourage land claimants to begin setting up permanent structures making it more difficult for the city government to remove them..—LM

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