Baclayon Mayor Alvin Uy is optimistic that, finally, Congress would approve the House Bill filed by Cong. Edgar Chatto to resolve the land issue in Pamilacan Island. He strongly supports the legislative move of the 1st District representative to help the plight of the lot title owners in the said island.
This is the statement of the mayor in a radio interview on Dec. 6, 2022 over Newsmakers ug Uban Pa hosted by Ardy Araneta-Batoy and Dave Albarado.
Mayor Uy said that this bill was set aside before and he is hopeful that, this time, the bill will become a law and solve the land issue faced by lot owners in Pamilacan Island.
Uy and councilor Judel Cabahug together Pamilacan Island barangay captain Crispo Valeroso appeared before the House Committee on Natural Resources regarding Chatto’s bill which seeks to classify the entire island as “agriculture”. Currently, Pamilacan Island is unclassified and as such no land titles can be issued. But land titles were issued to some Pamilacan residents before; and it is here where one of the problem lies.
The problem stems from the issuance of land titles to Pamilacan Island residents before only to be told later that the lot titles that had been issued to them which they now possess are invalid even if the government was the one who issued the titles in the first place.
The residents who possess lot titles want to resolve the issue by classifying land at Pamilacan Island as “agricultural” to become alienable and disposable land. This can be done through a piece of legislation.
Chatto filed a similar bill in previous congress but it was placed in the backburner due to inaction from the Senate, the mayor said in the interview.
The bill was then re-filed by Chatto and was approved by the House committee. This will then be sent to the plenary, then to the Senate to be ratified by the Senators.
“Hopefully ma approve ni sya,” the mayor said in the radio interview.
The Mayor also said that around 50 to 60% of Pamilacan Island has titled lots. Some of the titles were issued by the Department of Agriculture, while other titles were issued by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
“Unfortunately, dili [pa] pod dugay, mga early 2000, ang DENR mismo, tungod sa sugo SolGen [solicitor general], gi-pa file ug kaso sa mga holders sa mga titles, for erroneous issuance of said titles. So looy kaayo ang gagunit ug titulo nga wala man siguro silay sala,” the mayor explained.
Accordingly, the Chatto bill, if it becomes a law, will help solve the plight of the lot title holders of Pamilacan Island.
“Sa pag file before sa bill ni Cong. Chatto, gipahunong ang hearing adto. Pero among nahibaw-an adtong meetinga nga ang DENR mismo misugo sa SolGen nga iparevive ug ipabalik na pud ang kaso. So dihay test case kuno nga ongoing karon ,” the mayor quipped.
“Positive kaayo mi, positive kaayo ang among panan-aw nga ma-aprovan ni sa House then sa Senate pod kay segun sa ilang istorya sa House, if approved ang local bill kinta, dili na kaayo kuti ang Senate ana,” the Mayor added.
It is possible that new lot titles will be issued to holders in the event the bill becomes a law which converts Pamilacan Island being unclassified as alienable and disposable land.
Uy added that the local government unit of Baclayon shall draft a master plan for the island to regulate the construction of the structures and maintain the area’s pristine beauty as a tourism eco-destination.
Meanwhile, The Bohol Tribune reached out to Valeroso to get his statement regarding the issue but signal problems in the island are making it difficult to get his side of the matter. It is a known fact that the cellular phone signal in Pamilcan Island is unreliable.
Valeroso was among the local officials who attended the House panel meeting that resulted in the approval of the measure on Nov. 29, 2022.The measure’s approval will surely help those who hold the land title to finally possess their holdings legally in Pamilacan Island, observers say.