‘No sale allowed for watershed lots’

THE dubious sale of land in the watersheds of Central Cebu will not hold up based on tax declarations.

“It is not allowed to issue a tax declaration on a lot owned by the government,” said Regional Eexecutive Director Maximo Dischoso of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) yesterday.

He facilitated a dialogue between 17 forest occupants and retired general Tiburcio Fusilero, who have traded accusations over developments in the uplands, of which 503 hectares mostly in barangay Tabunan, Cebu City, are under Fusilero’s stewardship under a memorandum of agreement with the DENR.

Fusilero repeated his complaint that forest occupants were destroying newly planted trees and “selling” land rights to wealthy private individuals and setting up illegal structures.

“Farmers would sell the lot and then claim another lot,” he said in the dialogue.

The farmers, who were classified by the DENR as tenured migrants, countered that Fusilero was driving them out of land they inherited from their forefathers.

“When they (Fusilero) plant trees, they also harass us into moving off our farms,” said Lito Alindajao, a farmer. He said their was no prior consultation made before reforestation projects were done and that some trees were planted in sites where they had crops and their houses inherited from their forefathers.

Dischoso, who reminded parties that protected areas like watersheds are owned by the national government, suggested that tenured migrants in the Central Cebu Protected Landscape (CCPL) organize themselves to work with a forest steward in managing the area in partnership with Fusilero.

Dischoso previously issued a cease-and-desist order against building of structures in the area.

Edelina Alcantara in the dialogue admitted that her father-in-law “sold” the tax declaration for their 32-hectare lot to Betty Rivero but the family agreed to stay on to oversee the development of the lot.