Gov’t tells Avesco’s Tang: ‘Your land title is spurious’

A Manila- based prominent businessman purchased a large parcel of land in General Santos City, only to be advised by the Register of Deeds that the title he was holding on the property is fake.

That’s exactly what happened to businessman Jimmy T. Tang of Avesco (Avenue Electrical Supply Co.), who was advised by the GenSan Register of Deeds that the title he holds over 707.63 hectares is “spurious.”

The GenSan official advised Tang in a letter that the Office could not register the sale of the six parcels since their mother title – OCT No. (V-1344) (P-144) P-2252 – “has been found to be spurious” by the Land Registration Authority (LRA) and a subject of an earlier investigation by the National Bureau Investigation (NBI).

The GenSan RD told the erring businessman that this was based on the Investigation Report of the Task Force Titulong Malinis (TFTM)” of the Land Registration Authority (LRA). The LRA, in its TFTM No. 04-035 report, even recommended that the spurious title be expunged from the files of the Registry.

The 707- hectare parcel of land bought by Tang, a government property in General Santos City, comprises 95% of the entire 747-hectare area. It is currently devoted to the Integrated Forest Management Agreement (IFMA) entered into by the government and Alsons Development and Investment Corporation (Aldevinco).

The fake title held by private individuals covering the area is the object of an ongoing investigation by the Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights, chaired by Senator Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, which was prompted by the proliferation of fake titles in Mindanao.

In the recent hearing conducted by the Pimentel committee, LRA officials led by Deputy Administrator Ronald Ortile reaffirmed the findings of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) that the claimants are holding fake titles.

This property issue has been the subject of an ongoing investigation of government agencies ever since a certain Romeo Confesor presented a fake land title to claim ownership of the IFMA area.

It was revealed in the Senate hearing that Confesor claimed he owned the property as early 1956. In GenSan’s government records, Confesor was only 15 years old when he laid claim over the 707-hectare lot.

The General Santos airport shares a common land boundary with the contested property, the same property “bought” by businessman Tang from the fake claimants.

Resource persons who appeared at the Senate hearing said that Confesor could not have predicted that the GenSan International Airport would be built right next to his property 37 years from 1956.