IN SIRUMA: Farmers’ titles ‘superior’ to corporate land claim-DAR

By Paulo DS Papa

The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) in Camarines Sur has declared that the Certificates of Land Ownership Award (CLOAs) held by about 150 agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) in Barangays San Ramon and Salvacion, Siruma, are superior to the land title claimed by Wanderlust Land Development Corporation over 434 hectares within the area.

The land owned by the ARBs is located within the 1,014-hectare property being claimed by the corporation through another title issued by the Register of Deeds following a questionable acquisition in 2023 from Daniel Paguirigan. Paguirigan is being sued by the descendants of Apolonio Navarro in Caloocan City over the alleged unlawful possession of documents that purportedly establish the latter’s legitimate ownership of the property.

During a consultation meeting held on Saturday morning, June 6, at the San Ramon Covered Court and spearheaded by 4th District Rep. Arnie Fuentebella, Atty. Ramon Cabañes Jr., chief legal officer of DAR-Camarines Sur, revealed that the farmers’ CLOAs are superior to the land title being asserted by the corporation.

Cabañes said his office had already submitted documents to the DAR central office raising questions regarding Wanderlust’s land title covering the vast property in the area.

He assured the affected farmers that DAR would pursue legal action on the matter and defend the rightful claims of its agrarian reform beneficiaries.

Forester Ronnel Astor, Regional Director for Technical Services of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)-Bicol, who was also present during the meeting, said that obtaining a copy of the corporation’s land title is crucial to the agency’s planned survey of the area.

Astor explained that the survey would determine whether the corporation’s land title indeed covers about 300 hectares of timberland and 140 hectares of bodies of water within the property.

The DENR survey began on Monday, June 8.

Fuentebella assured the attendees that the congressional inquiry by the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability into the issue would proceed after the State of the Nation Address (SONA) of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on July 27.

He explained that the inquiry had been delayed due to internal matters within the House of Representatives.

On February 9, in a privilege speech before Congress, Fuentebella called for a House investigation into Wanderlust over its involvement in the controversial land claim.

The controversy began on January 28 when around 50 masked and unidentified men conducted a fencing activity that enclosed a vast tract of land in Siruma.

On February 26, the activity was halted through a cease-and-desist order issued by Municipal Engineer Salvador Madrid due to the absence of a fencing permit from the municipal government.