The Pangasinan Star ONLINE

By DANNY O. SAGUN
PIA-Pangasinan Infocenter

SEVENTEEN claimants to the controversy-laden Pindangan Estate in Alcala town finally got their land titles Tuesday in time for the town’s 130th founding anniversary celebration.

The Pindangan Estate, an agricultural land of some 491 hectares touching four barangays in the town, has been ruled a government property some 82 years of conflict between the original owners and later the government and occupants/claimants.

The property was foreclosed by the defunct Agricultural Bank of the Philippines when the original owner, Don Francisco Gonzales, failed to settle his loan obtained in November 1922 with the then government bank. His daughter Cristina, married to Swiss national, Ernest Schenkel, tried in March 1923 to redeem the property thru repurchase on installment basis.

Pending consideration of her application, she applied for a provisionary permit to occupy and cultivate the land which was granted. On October 8, 1923 she filed a lease application but was not granted because of the fact that she had become a Swiss citizen. On November 28, 1923, the land became a government property when the period of her right for redemption expired. She then formed a corporation, Cristina Gonzales, Inc. and filed another lease application with the Director of Lands.

Meanwhile some 93 families occupied the land for themselves even before government took hold of it. The claimants represented by lawyer Cipriano Primicias, protested against the lease application of the corporation, but the agriculture Secretary on December 23. 1926 dismissed their appeal.

The Director of Lands on August 5, 1932, meanwhile, cancelled the corporation’s deed of repurchase. The agriculture secretary however reversed the director’s order and granted Cristina her second repurchase application for which she paid P5,084,62 as first installment. The move only courted more court litigations between and among the claimants that spanned several decades. A group of 178 claimants emerged as well as another group of 302. The land controversy eventually reached the Supreme Court.

On May 15, 1980, the high court resolved to terminate with finality all judicial litigations and authorized the Director of Lands and the Secretary to determine adjudication and distribution of the estate to legitimate claimants and occupants. A modular survey was conducted four years later. On January 18, 1993, the DENR Secretary Angel Alcala issued Administrative Order No. 3 to judiciously implement the 1980 SC decision.

In May 1996, a field team set guidelines to determine the value or cost of the subdivided residential lots and to subject them to bidding. Also in May 1996, Transfer Certificate of Title No. 151 in the name of Cristina Gonzales was transferred to the government with the director of lands as estate administrator. The controversy did not end though as a local court issued a status quo order. The agrarian reform committee of the House of Representatives also held its own inquiry. An inter-agency task force, which was recommended by the House agrarian committee, met with the opposing groups, the 178 claimants and the 302 group to settle their disputes amicably. Several meetings followed between the DENR, the municipal government, and the affected parties for the final resolution of the controversy.

The sangguniang bayan also passed a resolution asking the DENR to finally distribute the property to legitimate claimants as ordered by the high court. Initially, 20 residential lots were approved fro distribution. A group tried desperately to delay the proceedings as if filed a petition for mandamus before the Villasis regional trial court but Judge Manuel Pastor Jr. dismissed it paving the way for the publication and posting of notices for the sale of government lands.

On August 1, 2005, initial bidding for the 20 lots was conducted at the community environment and natural resources office in Dagupan City. Only 17 were bid out because the three supposed bidders had no money for publication in the newspapers. The DENR meanwhile continues to process applications for the other claimants, it was gathered. DENR Regional Executive Director Victor Ancheta and Mayor Manuel Collado led the awarding ceremony Tuesday at the municipal gym coinciding with Alcala Day, the 130th founding anniversary of the town.