The Land Registration Authority (LRA) is now checking the origin and history of several uncovered land titles covering some 38.83 hectares of illegally reclaimed areas on the Taguig City side of Laguna Lake, based on the materials provided by the Philippine Reclamation Authority (PRA) to his office, Sen. Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson said.
“I requested them to backtrack the history of the issued OCTs (original certificates of title) and other modes of titling, so we will find out how they were manipulated with the end in view of filing criminal charges against those responsible,” Lacson said.
Citing his initial information, Lacson said the OCTs were issued through judicial/ordinary land registration while others were issued through homestead patents.
Lacson stressed that these titles may be declared void ab initio (void from the start) once the PRA initiates forfeiture proceedings in accordance with law.
On Wednesday evening, Lacson said the LRA is examining materials from the PRA to check if land titles were issued over some reclaimed portions of Laguna Lake.
Lacson also said several crates of documents from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) related to anomalous projects in Taguig City were to be turned over to the Office of the Ombudsman.
The latest batch adds to the documentary evidence previously submitted by Lacson and his team to the Ombudsman in connection with their probe into anomalous infrastructure and reclamation projects in Taguig City.
The Ombudsman has been conducting a fact-finding investigation into the Taguig projects and has issued subpoenas to the DPWH, PRA, LRA and the Taguig Registry of Deeds for relevant records.
Lacson’s office earlier turned over evidence from at least five case studies involving anomalous Taguig infrastructure projects, including alleged ghost projects, double appropriations, recycled photographs used for billing, and the alleged use of slope protection project appropriations to fund “unabated and illegal” reclamation activities.
He said the projects are among the matters that should now be examined by the Ombudsman and other government agencies tasked with determining accountability and protecting government property and resources.
Lacson said he and his staff will continue providing the Ombudsman with documents and other evidence gathered from their case studies. #
