Bulacan farmers decry delay in Villar 'landgrabbing' case

Farmers and landowners from Norzagaray, Bulacan have decried the delay in a plunder case accusing presidential candidate Manuel Villar Jr. of “technical land grabbing." Filed in September 26, 2008, the graft and plunder cases claim that lands owned by the farmers “were mortgaged by Villar’s companies…using dubious titles," the farmers said in a statement issued on Thursday.

However, the cases have not been acted upon despite repeated follow-ups, said the same statement distributed during a Quezon City press conference organized by the farmers. Companies owned by Villar, the Nacionalista Party standard bearer, and his wife, Cynthia, have engaged in “technical land grabbing," Attorney Peter Anthony V. Rafanan told GMANews.TV, referring to the case filed by Gina Jarvina and Valentino L. Amador. Rafanan, litigation manager of the PAV Rafanan & Associates Law Office, represents more than 100 farmers, including the two plaintiffs. Jarvina and Amador also filed “a pending criminal case for violation of Article 316 (other forms of swindling) of the Revised Penal Code against Mrs. Villar before the Office of the City Prosecutor of San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan." An estimated 100 farmers claimed that “their lands were mortgaged by Villar’s companies – Capitol Development Bank (now Optimum Development Bank) and Manila Brickworks Inc. – to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP)…for P1.5 billion using dubious titles." “Villar’s companies, represented by his wife, Las Piñas Rep. Cynthia Villar, in the mortgage contracts with BSP, failed to pay the loans," the statement said. “[The] BSP foreclosed the mortgage and finally acquired the lands in a public auction. At the time the loans were contracted, Senator Villar was the Speaker of the House of Representatives." Jarvina learned about the “manipulative acts" of the Villars when the BSP, through its personnel, visited their area and claimed ownership over their lands. Landowners claim they have been in “actual, public,…and continuous possession of the lands in question since the 1960s and derived their title from Original Certificate of Title (OCT) No. P-858/Free Patent No. 257917 issued by the government on April 27, 1964." Owners were forced to institute reconstitution proceedings before the Regional Trial Court of Malolos, Bulacan after a March 1987 fire razed the town’s Register of Deeds and destroyed all its records. Titles used by Villar’s companies in “mortgaging lands to the BSP emanated from OCT No. 287 which was supposedly issued by the Registry of Deeds of Bulacan in July 1944." “However, the [Register of Deeds] could not have issued OCT 287 on such a date because it was during the Japanese occupation and no civil government was functioning at that time," the same statement said. Transactions are “above board, legal" In the meantime, Capitol Bank’s transactions with the BSP are all “above board and legal," Atty. Nalen Roseo Galang, Manny Villar’s chief legal officer said in a statement. “The properties transferred to BSP are all covered by titles existing on file with the Registry of Deeds," the statement said. “To date, no case is pending or has been filed in any court questioning the validity of the titles of BSP or of its predecessors-in-interest. The titles of BSP remain existing on file with the Register of Deeds and have not been declared null and void by any court." If the “alleged farmers" have valid claims on the properties, “the proper remedy is to file an action in court for the nullification of the titles of BSP," the statement said. The statement added that a case involving the same issues was dismissed by the Ombudsman on the ground, among others, that "the evidence submitted does not at all prove the participation or liability on the part of the respondents (Senator Villar, Cynthia Villar, et. al.) in the crimes charged." Galang, in an addendum to his statement, said that the land titles foreclosed by the BSP was upheld by the Regional Trial Court, Branch 20 of Malolos, Bulacan (Civil Case No. 209-M-2008). The court issued a Writ of Preliminary Injunction, preventing individuals from “intruding" on the property for the purpose of converting it to a dumpsite and lay claim to the same on the basis of the purported OCT No. P-858/Free Patent No. 257917. “The court noted that the claimants could not present the original of the said OCT/Free Patent," Galang said, citing the decision. “Further, the court even elucidated that “xxx it (BSP) appears to be the owner of the property in question having certificate of title in their favor." Attempts to contact Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez and the Assistant Ombudsman Jose De Jesus were unsuccessful, as Gutierrez's number was "not yet in service," and De Jesus was not answering his phone. GMANews.TV also made a telephone inquiry at the Office of the Ombudsman regarding the plunder case’s status. But Jason Nuguid of the agency’s Records Division refused to give out information over the phone, saying that a formal request would have to be made in writing regarding the matter. - with Carmela Lapeña, Robert JA Basilio Jr., and Amita Legaspi, GMANews.TV