The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has turned over more than two hectares of land to the Samahang Masigasig ng Sitio Tapayan Homeowners Association (SAMATHOA) which has been appealing to the government to own the land they occupy in Taytay, Rizal over the years.
DENR Acting Sec. Jim O. Sampulna handed over 41 land titles to the beneficiary members of SAMATHOA — who are currently occupying the 2.01 hectares of land in Lupang Arenda and have appealed to own the land for more than a decade.
"All my life, this is what I have been doing, issuing land titles, not only here since I worked as Director of then Bureau of Lands. I have been to many places just to issue land titles. That is why I am very happy because we were given the chance to again turnover land titles," Sampulna said.
Sampulna also vowed to distribute the rest of the land parcels, which comprise the remaining 3 hectares of the proposed DENR Center in Rizal by providing a temporary ownership document.
"There are still 319 patents supposed to be given to you. However, these are underwater which cannot be titled," Sampulna said.
"But in the meantime, I told PENRO (Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Officer) and RED (Regional Executive Director) to issue a certificate of land allocation (CELA). The CELA is already like a land title but you are not yet required to pay tax since we cannot yet have it titled due to its location," he added.