City officials recently warned the public against the proliferation of fraudulent Torrens titles and urged the concerned individuals to report to the appropriate authorities any suspicious encounter, information or activities regarding entities or individuals promising to secure land titles on their behalf.
In a resolution authored by Councilor Maximo H. Edwin, Jr., local legislators reminded the public to be vigilant against unscrupulous individuals and their felonious acts regarding the issuance of fake land titles and to report the same to the appropriate authorities for immediate action.
The council narrated that sometime in 2009, a dubious entity named ‘Bagong Lahing Pilipino (BLP) Multipurpose Cooperative’ was organized and reported to have been allegedly issuing Torrens titles and claiming authority under the Real Property Act of 1958 and Republic Act (RA) 8371 or the Indigenous Peoples ‘Rights Act (IPRA) of 1997.
The body stated that this organization allegedly holds registrations with the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and had targeted members of indigenous cultural communities and indigenous peoples in different parts of the country.
In 2019, the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) in the Cordillera received a complaint regarding a fraudulent title covering a parcel of land in La Trinidad, Benguet issued to a certain cooperative issued by Bagong Lahing Pilipino Multipurpose Cooperative.
According to the council, it has come to the attention of the NCIP and the Indigenous Peoples Mandatory Representatives League of the Philippines that the BLP Multipurpose Cooperative is still allegedly operating but assuming other names such as BLP Cooperative, BLP Development Foundation, Inc., to name a few.
The council claimed that most recently, local legislators allegedly received copies of fake land titles over a portion of land located at St. Joseph Village, Baguio City with an area of 305 square meters and another containing an area of 54,875 square meters at Loakan Liwanag, Baguio City, both issued by Bagong Lahing Pilipino Development Foundation, Inc., which is obviously fake but to untrained and average persons, the same may pass as legitimate.
The council underscored that the city government is deeply concerned about the potential mass exploitation of vulnerable individuals and the undermining of the integrity of the land and the titling system by the deceptive issuance of fake land titles. The resolution condemned the questionable activities of this cooperative as their actions are illegal, deceptive and immoral as they prey on unsuspecting and oftentimes desperate individuals.
Copies of the resolution will be furnished to all the city’s 128 barangays, the NCIP Baguio and regional offices, Registry of Deeds and other concerned offices for their information, guidance, ready reference and further needed action. By Dexter A. See
