Developer: Land claims valid, but won’t ‘silence’ Mangyan assertions
CALAPAN CITY, Oriental Mindoro — Saying it does not intend to “silence” criticisms from the Mangyan-Iraya community, developer Pieceland Corporation insists it has the legal right over a 302,944 square meter property in Barangay Poblacion at Abra de Ilog town in Occidental Mindoro which an indigenous tribal organization claims as part of its ancestral domain.
In a letter sent to the Inquirer on Thursday (Sept. 24), Angelo Decena, the firm’s Vice President for Administration and Corporate Secretary, also reacted to claims aired online by the Samahan ng Katutubong Mangyan-Iraya sa Sitio Mangyan that called for the dismissal of what had described as “fabricated cases” of trespassing, usurpation of real rights to property, and malicious mischief against tribal members.
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“This is a serious accusation,” that is belied by “actual proceedings before the courts,” Decena said.
Decena wrote: “The records identify eight criminal cases arising from alleged acts involving the property, including Occupation of Real Property or Usurpation of Real Rights in Property under Article 312 of the Revised Penal Code, Other Forms of Trespass under
Article 281, and Malicious Mischief under Article 327. Pieceland did not invent these offenses.”
“The corporation invoked the remedies available under Philippine law and submitted the matter to the competent authorities. Whether the allegations will ultimately be proven is for the courts to determine. But that is precisely the point: a case being disputed is not the same thing as a case being fabricated,” his letter said.
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Decena explained that the land at the center of the dispute has proprietary history dating back to September 1914 which he says predates official government laws that acknowledge indigenous land rights.
“It is not an unidentified parcel of land over which Pieceland suddenly asserted a claim. The property has been under the Torrens system since September 23, 1914, when it was originally registered under Original Certificate of Title No. 92. The property thereafter passed through a documented chain of registered ownership and eventually became covered by TCT No. T-8391 in the name of Romel P. Almeda,” Decena explains.
Pieceland acquired the property fron Almeda on Dec. 6, 2019. “Following its acquisition, Pieceland exercised acts of ownership and possession over the property. It maintained caretakers.
It maintained perimeter fencing. It posted ‘Private Property / No Trespassing’ notices. And, importantly, Pieceland has been religiously paying the real property taxes on the property, as reflected in the corresponding government records,” Decena wrote.
Decena said Pieceland “does not disregard” the 1997 Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act (Republic Act No. 8371) which protects indigenous Filipino rights and issues ancestral land and domain titles to acknowledge tribal rights over lands that have been under indigenous guardianship “since time immemorial.”
“On the contrary, Pieceland respectfully invokes the law precisely because the law itself recognizes that the protection of Indigenous Peoples’ rights must coexist with existing property rights,” Decena argued, citing Section 56 of IPRA which stipulates: “Property rights within the ancestral domains already existing and/or vested upon effectivity of this Act, shall be recognized and respected.”
“This is not a contest between Pieceland and the Mangyan people as a whole, and the corporation respects them and recognizes the importance of protecting legitimate ancestral domain rights. The dispute concerns a particular property, a particular registered title, acts of possession and occupation, and judicial proceedings arising from those circumstances. We do not ask that legitimate indigenous rights be disregarded,” Decena said. /mr
