CENRO rejects ownership claims on city’s river
59 FISH PENS’ DEMOLITON SEEN
THE Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) has cleared the way for the demolition of fish pens built on supposedly private properties that had been eroded and became part of the river system
CENRO officer-in-charge Raymundo Gayo said the law clearly provides that if a private property has become part of the water, then it automatically returns possession to the state and the national government takes jurisdiction over it.
During the televised executive meeting called by Mayor Belen Fernandez and attended by department heads, Gayo cited similar cases in the past to guide the Dagupan city government in its response to the claims of owners of 59 fish pens that their structures were built on their private properties as evidenced by transfer of certificate of titles (TCTs) and tax declarations.
The 59 pens were among the 205 illegal fish pens that were targeted for demolition by the city government since July this year and about 150 had been demolished.
The contested fish pens were retained pending verification from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) on whether the owners’ claims are valid.
The owners of the 59 fish pens said that their structures were built on former fishponds and residential lands but have since been eroded and became part of rivers.
Gayo said a fishpond by definition essentially has dikes on all four sides while a fish pen only has nets anchored on bamboo poles erected in the water.
“If you see this type of structure in part of the river and you can not find any dike, we will consider this as a fish pen and not fishponds,” Gayo explained in response to a query posed by City Administrator Farah Decano.
UNDERWATER
Fernandez cited the fish pen owned by outgoing Barangay Pantal Chairman Lilia Yasar located in the middle of the Calmay River, which is among those spared from demolition in view of her claim that it is covered by a land title in her name.
City Assessor Alan Dale Zarate admitted that the property on which Yasar built her fish pen is indeed covered by a land title which she bought from one Robert Gonzales.
Gayo cited a similar case handled by his office which involved a private individual’s claim of an island of about one hectare located above the water, but when the property went under water, ownership automatically returned to the government.
City Legal Officer George Mejia concurred citing that under the regalian doctrine, private land that has been submerged in the water due to erosion and other natural factors would become part of public domain. He, however, has not submitted his formal recommendation for the demolition of the contested fish pens.
After hearing Gayo, Fernandez asked City Agriculture Officer Emma Molina to immediately submit to her office photo copies of supposed land titles and tax declaration submitted by fish pen owners for further study by the legal office.
City hall observers say the remaining fish pens in the rivers of Dagupan City remain a visible blot in the Sa Ilog Ko May Pagbabago program of Fernandez.
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