This story was taken from Bulatlat, the Philippines's alternative weekly newsmagazine (www.bulatlat.com, www.bulatlat.net, www.bulatlat.org).
Vol. VI, No. 9, April 2-8, 2006

Irisan Residents Block Realty Firm’s Joint Relocation Survey

Residents of San Carlos Heights, Irisan, Baguio City have prevented the Holy Family Housing Project Association, Inc. from holding a dialogue regarding a joint relocation survey with 12 affected residents on March 30, asserting that the said realty firm’s claim over a portion of Purok 22 is a fraud. The said realty claiming over 4,000 square meters of Purok 22 affects 12 houses.

BY KIM QUITASOL

Northern Dispatch

Posted by Bulatlat

BAGUIO CITY — Residents of San Carlos Heights, Irisan here have prevented the Holy Family Housing Project Association, Inc. from holding a dialogue regarding a joint relocation survey with 12 affected residents on March 30, asserting that the said realty firm’s claim over a portion of Purok 22 is a fraud. The said realty claiming over 4,000 square meters of Purok 22 affects 12 houses.

Irisan People’s Action against Demolition and for Good Governance (IPADeGG) chairperson Salvador Ramo said the lot area under question is considered as public land and under present laws, public lands cannot be titled. He questioned the legality of the papers the realty talked about.

Ramo further said that IPADeGG has an on-going petition filed at the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) regarding status clarification of all lots in the said area and cancellation of all titles. The same petition is pending at the city council.

Holy Family Housing maintains that it has all the necessary papers to prove its right to develop the said lot area. The said realty firm is using the title claim of a certain Calderon on the said lot.

According to one of the affected residents, who requested anonymity, the dialogue on the said date was actually the last leg of the joint relocation survey. He said they had been approached by representatives of the said realty firm to talk about the survey. He added that some of the affected residents went to the realty firm’s office at the Otek Building here to discuss the process of the survey and payment mode for the lots the residents occupied.

He further said that after the first survey was conducted, the realty firm offered affected residents P3,500 for every square meter of the lots they occupied.

Over 100 residents from nearby puroks gathered to support the affected residents. Northern Dispatch / Posted by Bulatlat

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