Massive land scam involving Marikina watershed uncovered

Environment Secretary Ramon Paje. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Environment Secretary Ramon Paje warned the public on Saturday against fraudulent schemes involving the sale of agricultural or forest lands that are inalienable or may not be acquired by private entities.

Paje issued the warning after the authorities discovered a massive scam involving an Antipolo City-based group that was selling land  located within the Upper Marikina River Basin Protected Landscape.

The 26,226-hectare land formerly known as the Marikina Watershed Reservation has been declared a protected area by virtue of Proclamation No. 296 signed by President Benigno Aquino in 2011, he said.

“Any part of a proclaimed protected area is classified as public forestland and could not be in any manner disposed of, much less sold as a titled property,” Paje said in a news release.

The Upper Marikina River Basin Protected Landscape covers the upper reaches of the Marikina watershed in the province of Rizal, straddling Antipolo City and the towns of Baras, Rodriguez, San Mateo and Tanay.

The new land scam first came to public attention after an investigative TV show exposed the operations of Vanguard for Resourcefulness and Self-Reliance Livelihood and Housing Foundation, Inc., which was reportedly involved in the selling of lands within the protected area.

VRS Foundation officer Juanito Sta. Maria was arrested in an entrapment operation on February 20 at the group’s office in Antipolo City after receiving marked money from a DENR asset who posed as a buyer of a property being sold by the foundation.

The operation was carried out by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group of the Philippine National Police and the DENR led by Assistant Secretary for Internal Audit and Anti-Corruption Daniel Nicer.

Further investigation revealed that VRS Foundation was also engaged in buying Certificates of Stewardship Contracts  from upland farmers taking part in DENR’s Integrated Social Forestry Program  and would use these certificates to resell plots of land  in the guise of “transfer of rights.”

Started in the 1980s, the Integrated Social Forestry Program grants  25-year stewardship contracts to qualified forest occupants, allowing them to settle and till the upland areas. In return they agree to protect and reforest the land.

But Paje said that under the ISFP regulations, the certificates of stewardship cannot be assigned or transferred without permission from the DENR head.  “Rights to ISF areas cannot be transferred, sold or even titled; more so if they are inside protected areas,” he said.

Paje called on all other victims to come forward and file charges against the foundation, urging them to report to Nicer’s office any unlawful sale of public land, especially those involving DENR personnel.