THE CITY GOVERNMENT OF BAGUIO CITY, et al. vs. ATTY. BRAIN MASWENG, et al.
THE CITY GOVERNMENT OF BAGUIO
CITY, et al. vs. ATTY. BRAIN MASWENG,
et al.
G.R. NO. 180206
FEBRUARY 4, 2009
PONENTE: TINGA, J.
FACTS:
City Mayor of Baguio City, Braulio D.
Yaranon, ordering the demolition of the illegal structures constructed by
Lazaro Bawas, Alexander Ampaguey, Sr. and a certain Mr. Basatan on a portion of
the Busol Watershed Reservation located at Aurora Hill, Baguio City, without
the required building permits and in violation of Sec 69 of PD No. 705, as amended,
PD No. 1096 and RA No. 7279.
Private respondents basically 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;
that their ownership thereof have been expressly recognized in Proclamation No.
15 dated April 27, 1922 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 ancestral lands accorded by the Constitution and the law,
perforce, must be restrained.
The corresponding demolition advices dated September
19, 2006 were issued informing the occupants thereon of the intended demolition
of the erected structures on October 17 to 20, 2006. Consequently, private
respondents filed a petition for injunction with prayer for the issuance of a TRO
and/or writ of preliminary injunction against the Office of the City Mayor of Baguio
City before the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples, Cordillera Administrative
Region (NCIP-CAR). The NCIP-CAR, on October 16 and 19, 3006, issued 2 TROs and
issued Demolition Orders. The petitioners appealed before the CA, and the
latter upheld the NCIP and affirmed the TROs
The government claims that Busol Forest Reservation
is exempt from ancestral claims as it is needed for public welfare. It is
allegedly one of the few remaining forests in Baguio City and is the city's
main watershed. Further, they also claim that the NCIP has no jurisdiction to
hear and decide main actions for injunction.
Further, the IPRA provides that Baguio City
shall be governed by its Charter. Thus, private respondents cannot claim their
alleged ancestral lands under the provisions of the IPRA.
As a defense, the private respondents 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, and that the IPRA does not exempt
Baguio City from its coverage nor does it state that there are no ancestral lands
in Baguio City.
ISSUE:
Whether the Busol Forest Reservation is exempted under the IPRA
law.
HELD:
No, the provision indeed states
that Baguio City is governed by its own charter. Its exemption from the IPRA,
however, cannot ipso facto be deduced because the law concedes the validity of
prior land rights recognized or acquired through any process before its
effectivity. The IPRA demands that the city's charter respect the validity of
these recognized land rights and titles.
The 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.
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