Residents of barangay Tinago (CDN PHOTO/JUNJIE MENDOZA)
Antonia Vitor waited more than 50 years to finally get a title for the lot where her house stands in barangay Duljo-Fatima in Cebu City.
The 61-year old market vendor said she’s been living in uncertainty throughout the years having no proof of ownership over the lot.
“Nalipay gyud ko kaayo kay mahiluna na ko. Sauna kay hadlok kaayo mi basin mapapahawa mi,” Antonia told Cebu Daily News.
(I’m very glad because I can now feel secure. Before, we were so afraid that we might be evicted or demolished)
Clutching her Original Certificate of Title on the lot in her hands as if her life depended on it, Antonia was all smiles as she shook hands with city officials at the Plaza Sugbo grounds yesterday morning.
She was among the 105 residents from six different barangays who received their land titles from the Cebu City Government, Registry of Deeds and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) yesterday.
Of the beneficiaries, 16 are from barangay Duljo Fatima and another 16 are from barangay Tinago.
The owners from both barangays were beneficiaries under Republic Act 10023 or the Residential Free Patent law and received Original Certificate of Title (OCT) to their lots.
Under the law, which was signed in 2010, residents living in public lands for at least ten years can own it. Public lands are those that are not owned or titled to either private individuals or the government.
The others were beneficiaries of the City’s Division for the Welfare of the Urban Poor (DWUP) programs on social housing sites – 17 from barangay Kasambagan and 34 from barangay Bulacao – and the Slum Improvement and Rehabilitation (SIR) with 19 from barangay Pasil and three from barangay Mambaling.
Unlike the residential free patent beneficiaries, they received Transfer Certificate of Title (TCT) from the city who facilitated for the acquisition of the lands.
“We’re not just distributing lands. But we are also affording security, dignity and opportunity for the poor,” said lawyer Jade Ponce who heads the City Hall’s Land Management Council.
Backlog
Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama gave a tall order for the council to distribute 1,000 lot titles to beneficiaries before the years ends. But so far, council has only distributed close to 200 titles since they started distribution last February.
If Ponce was to say, the order would have been done if only the city government is involved in the process.
But he said several national agencies are also concerned in the acquisition of titles like the Land Registration Authority through its local arm the Registry of Deeds and the DENR for the lot survey.
Rama said the council should focus on looking for more lots that can be titled to urban poor residents.
He said there are still several hectares of land that can be titled for residents.