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City Government of Baguio Vs Masweng-G.R.180206

1) The case involved a land dispute over structures built without permits on the Busol Watershed Reservation in Baguio City. 2) Private respondents claimed the land was their ancestral territory, while petitioners claimed it was part of an inalienable forest reserve. 3) The court ruled that while the NCIP has authority over ancestral land claims, Proclamation No. 15 identifying individuals as claimants did not definitively recognize private respondents' claim or acknowledge vested rights, as the proclamation maintained the area as an inalienable forest reserve.

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84 views2 pages

City Government of Baguio Vs Masweng-G.R.180206

1) The case involved a land dispute over structures built without permits on the Busol Watershed Reservation in Baguio City. 2) Private respondents claimed the land was their ancestral territory, while petitioners claimed it was part of an inalienable forest reserve. 3) The court ruled that while the NCIP has authority over ancestral land claims, Proclamation No. 15 identifying individuals as claimants did not definitively recognize private respondents' claim or acknowledge vested rights, as the proclamation maintained the area as an inalienable forest reserve.

Uploaded by

Euna Gallardo
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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The

City Government of Baguio, et al. Vs. Atty. Brain Masweng, et al.


G.R. No. 180206
February 4, 2009

FACTS:

The City Mayor of Baguio, Baulio Yaranon issued three (3) demolition orders for the illegal
structures constructed by Lazaro Bawas, Alexander Ampaguey, Sr., and a certain Mr. Basatan
on a portion of the Busol Watershed Reservation at Aurora Hill, Baguio City, without the
required building permits and in violation of Section 69 of P.D. No. 705, as amended, P.D. No.
1096 and R.A. No. 7279.

Corresponding demolition advices were issued informing the occupants of the intended
demolition of the erected structures on October 17-20, 2006. Consequently, Elvin Gumangan,
Narciso Basatan and Lazaro Bawas (hereinafter private respondents) filed a petition for
injunction with prayer for the insurance of a temporary restraining order and/or writ of
preliminary injunction.

In their petition, private respondents claimed that the lands where their residential houses
stand are their ancestral lands which they have been occupying and possessing openly and
continuously since time immemorial. Moreover, their ownership over the subject land have
been expressly recognized in Proclamation No. 15 dated April 27, 1992 and recommended
by the DENR for exclusion from the coverage of the Busol Forest Reserve. They, thus,
contended that the demolition of their residential houses is a violation of their right of
possession and ownership of their ancestral lands accorded by the constitution and the law,
perforce, must be restrained. Subsequently, the National Commission for Indigenous Peoples
(NCIP) issued other assailed Resolution dated November 10, 2006 granting the private
respondents’ application for preliminary injunction.

The petitioners appealed before the Court of Appeals, and the latter upheld the National
Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) and affirmed the Temporary Restraining Orders,
granting the application for a writ of preliminary injunction, issued by the NCIP. Further, the
appellate court also ruled that Baguio City is not exempt from the coverage of Republic Act
No. 8371, otherwise known as the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act of 1997 (IPRA).

Petitioners claimed that Busol Forest Reservation is exempt from ancestral claims and as
such the NICP has no jurisdiction to hear and decide main actions for injunction. Further,
since IPRA provides that Baguio City shall be governed by its Charter, the right over the
alleged ancestral lands cannot be validly asserted under the provisions of the IPRA.

The private respondents, however, contend that jurisdiction of the NCIP to take cognizance
of and decide main actions for injunction arguing that the IPRA does not state that the NCIP
may only issue such writs of injunction as auxiliary remedies. Private respondents also
contend that the IPRA does not exempt Baguio City from its coverage nor does it state that
there are no ancestral lands in Baguio City.

Furthermore, private respondents aver that the Busol Forest Reservation is subject to
ancestral land claims. In fact, Proclamation No. 15 dated April 27, 1922, which declared the
area a forest reserve, allegedly did not nullify the vested rights of private respondents over
their ancestral lands and even identified the claimants of the particular portions within the
forest reserve. This claim of ownership is an exception to the government’s contention that
the whole area is a forest reservation.

ISSUE:

Whether or not the private respondents’ ancestral land claim was recognized by the
Proclamation No. 15.

HELD:

NO, Proclamation No. 15, however, does not appear to be a definitive recognition of
private respondents’ ancestral land claim. The proclamation merely identifies the
Molintas and Gumangan families, the predecessors-in-interest of private respondents,
as claimants of a portion of the Busol Forest Reservation but does not acknowledge
vested rights over the same. In fact, Proclamation No. 15 explicitly withdraws the
Busol Forest Reservation from sale or settlement.

The court ruled that although the NCIP has the authority to issue temporary restraining
orders and writs of injunction, the fact remains that the Busol Forest Reservation was
declared by the Court as inalienable in the case of Heirs of Gumangan v Court of Appeals. The
declaration precludes its conversion into private property. Relatedly, the courts are not
endowed with jurisdictional competence to adjudicate forest lands.

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