Guimaras mayors warn vs rampant ‘illegal’ sales of residential lots

By Jennifer P. Rendon

 

Wanna own a lot in Guimaras?

Hold your horses first.

The League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP)-Guimaras Chapter has warned prospective buyers to carefully investigate the documents of the lot they would like to buy.

This, after several hundreds of individuals appeared to have bought a parcel of lot in a subdivision that turned out to be agricultural lands and did not go through the process of conversion into residential areas.

Worse, some of these lots were awarded to Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) beneficiaries.

On April 14, 2021, the LMP-Guimaras Chapter passed LMP Resolution No. 2021-02 “urging the public to be wary of rampant illegal sale of subdivision lots in the province of Guimaras and requesting the House and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB), the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and other concerned agencies of the government to undertake appropriate actions against illegal subdivision projects.”

The resolution was signed by Mayor Emmanuel Galila of Nueva Valencia town, the LMP president and Mayors Ninfa Gajo of San Lorenzo, Ruben Corpuz of Jordan, Annabelle Samaniego of Sibunag, and Eugenio Reyes of Buenavista.

In a press conference on Thursday, Reyes revealed that they have counted around 30 subdivisions that instantly sprouted like mushrooms in the province.

Buenavista alone accounted for around 10 subdivisions.

The mayors claimed they made verification of reports of the rampant sale of subdivision lots in the province,

“It was found out that the owners, developers, operators and/or sellers of the said subdivision have not secured the necessary clearances and permit from the local government unit prior to the commencement of the subdivision projects. Furthermore, the areas where the subdivision projects are being developed are not classified as residential,” the resolution stated.

It added that, “it is apparent that the subject subdivision projects are not compliant with the provisions of Presidential Decree No. 957 and other relevant decrees, rules and regulations.”

PD 957 is the Subdivision and Condominium Buyers’ Protective Decree.

Galila and Reyes said the LMP had to act to protect the public from the possible fraudulent manipulations perpetrated by unscrupulous subdivision sellers and operators.

The local chief executives said they had no exact numbers of individuals who already bought lots.

“But if there are around 50 buyers for each subdivision, were looking at around 1,500 persons and that’s already big,” Galila said.

They also learned that a good number of buyers were Guimarasnons who lived in Luzon and abroad.

Reports indicated that a 200-square meter lot in the island is sold at around P120,000.

“At the current rate of subdivision lots being sold in Iloilo, that’s way too cheap,” Reyes said.

For an agricultural land to be converted to residential lots, the owner had to apply for conversion with the Department of Agrarian Reform.

Once DAR has released the “conversion” documents, it will be presented to the local government for conversion for zoning purposes.

The owner would make an application before the HLURB of their “subdivision plan” for the latter to issue to the developer an authority to sell.

That’s why, “the LMP is requesting the HLURB, the DENR, and their concerned agencies of the government to undertake appropriate actions against the illegal/unregulated subdivision projects in Guimaras in order to ensure that owners, developers, operations and/or sellers of subdivision projects are compliant with the pertinent requirements for clearances, permits, and licenses,” the resolution added.

So far, it appeared that not one of the 30 new subdivisions has gone through the right process.

 

WHAT NOW?

What should a buyer then do if he or she bought a lot, which turned out to be classified as agricultural land?

Both Galila and Reyes said they could not do much about it.

“They could take possession of it but they could not build a house. The local government could not issue a building permit for them. They could not also be granted permits to have their electrical and water utility installed,” Reyes said.

Buyers could build an abode, a hut, and tap electricity from other residences.

Worse, for buyers of CARPed land which has been subdivided, they could not have their lots titled.

It can be noted that the Certificate of Land Ownership Awards (CLOA) cannot be alienated or sold to any other person.

Within the restricted 10-year period, the beneficiaries cannot dispose the land, which were titled under the CLOA.

Selling the CLOA to a developer or private citizen without the permission of DAR is considered as unlawful and illegal.