Naga High School lot ownership contested

A FAMILY in Naga City is claiming ownership of part of lot where the Naga National High School stands.

The heirs of Roberto Rivera are seeking court intervention to claim back the 9,220-square-meter lot located in barangay Poblacion, Naga City.

They requested the court to declare as “null and void” a cadastral survey that prompted the Naga city government to transfer ownership of the lot to the Department of Education (DepEd).

Named defendants in the case were the DepEd, Naga National High School, Eulogio Villarta and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

The plaintiffs—Felicisima Rivera-Diaz, Restituta Rivera, Dario Rivera, Geronima Rivera-Taghoy, and Brenda Sotero—claimed that the their father, Roberto Rivera, acquired a parcel of land in 1950.

When Rivera died, his heirs purportedly acquired ownership of the lot.

The plaintiffs said they allowed other people to occupy the lot.

Sometime in 1950, the public school was constructed nearby with an area of 27,500 square meters.

They said then Municipality of Naga acquired the portion of the lot where the school was built.

But in a tax declaration, the lot area of the school was increased to 37,240 square meters from 27,500 square meters.

In 1988, the Municipality of Naga donated the area where the school stands to Dep Ed.

The plaintiffs said the cadastral survey made to determine boundaries of the lot was “erroneous” and they are asking for the nullification of the survey.

DENR is the government agency tasked to conduct cadastral surveys./Reporter ADOR VINCENT S. MAYOL