LUNA, Apayao – Governor Elias C. Bulut Jr., during the presentation of the Task Force LUSA of the provincial government, reminded the members of the said group of the importance and positive impact of solving land disputes in the province and social divisions that may ensue while there is still time.
Apayao is the least populated province in the Cordilleras, but has seen rapid growth and progress in recent years, and thus the emergence of several land-related problems. These problems include boundary disputes, questionable issuance of titles in forest zones, mismatch of title and property, land disputes, improper conduct of surveys, division of inheritance, missing deeds of sale, and others.
Bulut emphasized his desire to expedite provision of solutions saying “with the Task Force (LUSA), let’s fix land disputes now, narigat nu ipatawid tayo ti problema if we can solve them now. Mabalin tayo masolve ti possible cancer in the future nu isimpa tayun ti problema dagiti dagdaga.”
What is the Taskforce LUSA?
The Taskforce LUSA (Lawful and Unified Initiatives in Safeguarding Apayao lands) was created through Executive Order No. 37, series of 2022. Its main aim is to address and resolve land disputes, dedicated to promoting fairness while ensuring peaceful resolutions in matters related to land ownership and usage.
It works under a structured framework for collaboration among various stakeholders, allowing for comprehensive and coordinated effort to address challenges. The taskforce serves as a mediating body to disputing parties and works as a facilitator for settlement or witness for agreements as well as providing aid in preparing or correcting legal documents.
Unresolved issues are left to the court to decide.
Of all the provinces in the country, Apayao is one of the few if not the only provincial governments which has this kind of program.
The governor, during the presentation of the taskforce of their challenges and accomplishments, underscored how critical the role of the task force is since there are many people needing legal assistance.
“Madami tayong natulungan kahit sa IEC pa lang. My plan is I want a team for every municipality to target land issues. Where are the barangays having land issues? So iform natin yung teams and get lawyers to help. Tapos mamonitor ti areas nga agkailangan ti legal aid. I wanted the assessors to plan with the lawyers and concerned national line agencies. Kasanu ti best approach? Ania ti barangay nga umuna?,” said the governor.
With this, Bulut directed the members of the taskforce to plan and find means to create an office of taskforce LUSA for every municipality.
Apart from solving land disputes, the work of the taskforce is expected to improve the tax collection of real properties in the province.
There are about 96,000 registered real property units in the province, and this number may increase once more land issues get resolved along with the surveys and titling. By PIO Apayao
