The Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) on Friday, Feb. 17, said it is the owner of the 270-hectare land in Tanay, Rizal being contested by the Masungi Georeserve Foundation, and it will utilize the property for its headquarters, including residential sites for its personnel.
Also, BuCor Acting Director General Gregorio Pio P. Catapang Jr. said the bureau’s Tanay property will be utilized “for the sustainment of its basic institutional food requirements.”
Catapang’s statement was issued in response to the call aired by the Masungi Georeserve Foundation which asked President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Ma. Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga “to uphold the Masungi Geopark Project, appoint a competent project manager to resolve conflicts and prevent further violence against environment defenders, immediately cease the unending issuance/applications of unscrupulous instruments within Masungi and adjacent protected areas, and make those responsible accountable.”
The foundation had earlier raised its concerns after BuCor personnel visited the Georeserve last Feb. 16 to conduct an ocular inspection for the supposed relocation site of the New Bilibid Prison (NBP).
It also questioned what it described as “a newly minted title” over the 270 hectares of property under the name of BuCor that included the Georeserve where the fragile limestone formations are located.
“BuCor is the registered owner of the subject property by virtue of the transfer certificate of title (NR 069-20220110986) issued in favor of BuCor,” Catapang declared in his statement.
“Existing jurisprudence dictates that until and unless it is nullified by a court of competent jurisdiction in a direct proceedings for the cancellation of title, the title to the land under the name of the Bureau of Corrections remains indefeasible and binding upon the whole world,” he said.
Thus, he pointed out that “being the registered owner of the subject property, BuCor has all the right to conduct any activity in the area, including the questioned ocular inspection that was conducted by our personnel.”
He also stressed that “the subject 270 hectares of land which is titled under the name of the Bureau of Corrections is not a relocation site of the New Bilibid Prison contrary to the allegations of the adversaries.”
“Pursuant to the to the five (5) year development plan of BuCor, the subject property in Tanay, Rizal will be used as a site of the BuCor headquarters, including its residential uses for its personnel and employees and for the development and implementation of land use development plans and policies of BuCor for the sustainment of its basic institutional food requirements,” he said.
“I would like to reiterate that I wholeheartedly support the noble objective of the Masungi Georeserve Foundation and its geo park projects. I am a pro-environmentalist and would not oppose any plan of the foundation that would be geared towards the conservation of our ecosystem,” he stressed.
“However, I have also my avowed duty as the head of the Bureau of Corrections not only to safekeep all prisoners or persons who are deprived of liberty but also to safeguard their basic rights and ensure their reformation by creating an environment that would strengthen government capability that aimed towards the institutionalization of highly efficient and competent correction services...,” he said.
He also said the land will be utilized “not only for administrative purposes but also all other programs that will promote sustainability that would lead to self-sufficient, administrative economy and promotion of health and welfare of the prison community including its personnel.”
Tracing the history of the Tanay property, Catapang said the land was “originally registered under the name of the Republic of the Philippines covered by original certificate of title No. 3556 issued by the Register of Deeds of Rizal on March 29, 1963.”
He said the land became “the subject of Presidential Proclamation No. 1158 issued on September 8, 2006 by then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo which reserved the said 270 hectares of land as the new site of the New Bilibid Prison.”
He also said that the Registry of Deeds of Morong, Rizal registered the title to the BuCor on Sept. 28, 2022 and later the Municipality of Tanay, Rizal issued a tax declaration denominated as TD NO. 18-TN-003-01994 under the name of the bureau.
The landholding is being claimed by the Masungi Georeserve Foundation and the Blue Star Construction and Development Corporation, he said.
He said that Blue Star “based its claim on the supplemental agreement executed on November 15, 2002 by then Secretary Heherson Alvarez, representing DENR and Lamberto Tagayuna, representing the corporation, for the development of the same subject area and construction of 5,000 housing units for employees of DENR, DILG (Department of the Interior and Local Government), DND (Department of National Defense), DepEd (Department of Education) and DOTC (Department of Transportation and Communication).”
Masungi Foundation, on the other hand, he said “based its claim on the memorandum of agreement executed on April 25, 2017 between Secretary Regina Paz Lopez, then secretary of DENR and Mr. Ben Dumanlang, president of Masungi Georeserve Foundation for the protection, preservation and development of Masungi Georeserve project in the same area.”
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