Legazpi City resettlement residents now land title holders

By Connie Calipay

LEGAZPI CITY --- After 20 long years, at least 70 residents of this city are now holders of land titles following the execution of a deed of donation and the awarding of titles for the Taysan resettlement site.

In an interview, lawyer Raphaela Albor, chief of Legazpi City’s Resettlement, Housing, and Community Development Office, said the beneficiaries are residents who have lived in the area for about 20 years and long held certificates of award from the City Government of Legazpi but had yet to receive their actual land titles.

“It has been 22 years since they were affected by the devastation of Typhoon Reming and subsequent volcanic eruptions. Now we are realizing their right to freely occupy the lots that are truly theirs,” Albor said.

She said the activity is part of the celebration of the country's 128th Independence Day, highlighting the beneficiaries’ newfound sense of freedom, security, and assurance that they will not be displaced.

“They now have their titles; they just need to process them. They already have the deed of donation and only need to register it with the Register of Deeds so that the titles will be placed in their names,” she added.

Albor noted that 100 titles have so far been distributed out of 1,000 lots in the resettlement site.

Of the 1,000 lots, about 700 are already occupied. Once the 700 occupied lots are fully awarded, the city can proceed with disposing of the remaining vacant lots.

“These families originally came from areas that were heavily affected by Typhoon Reming – Padang, Rawis, Arimbay, and Bigaa,” she said.

Janet Llaguno, president of Philradz Village at the Taysan Resettlement Site, thanked the City Government of Legazpi for the land titles awarded to them.

“We are so grateful because we have lived here for so long. Now it is definitely ours,” she said.

Llaguno has been living at the resettlement site for almost 20 years.

In his message, Mayor Hisham Ismail reminded the beneficiaries to take care of the land they received.

“There is a responsibility to take care of your lot, your community, and our city,” he said. (PNA)