In 1925, a presidential proclamation was issued declaring a 20 hectare parcel of

land located at baguio city as a governmental center reservation.

When the proclamation was issued, a 2000 square meter portion of the area
reserved is occupied by the heirs of pucay (a native ibaloi), who by themselves and
through their predecessors in interest has been in ocen possession of the same
since time immemorial. Despite the proclamation, the heirs of pucay continued to
occupy the property undisturbed. In 1975, the heirs of pucay sold a 200 squar
meter portion of the land to cornie macay, who immediately occupied said portion
oand built his house thereon.
In 1980, one many villa intruded and built structures on a vacant lot measuring
about 100 square meters found within the 2,000 square meter parcel of land and
was able to exclusively occupy the same area until the present
Applicable laws
CA 141 Sec. 83
- proclamations to designate lands of the public domain as reservations for the use
of the common wealth of the Philippines or any of its branches for a public
purpose/use
- Sec. 88
- Said lands shall be non-alienable and shall not be subject to occupation,
entry, sale, lease, or other disposition until again declared alienable under
the provisions of this act or by proclamation of the president.
Under the IPRA of 1997
- concept of Native Title ALs and Ads never to have been public land
- Through native title these lands are private
- Basis: Carino v Insular government where the concept of private land title
that existed irrespective of any royal grant from the state
o Presumptions as found under the Carino case:
- as far back as testimony or memory went
o Under claim of private ownership. Land held by this title is presumed to
never have been public land
o Thus these lands are not part of the lands of the public domain. They
are private and belong to the iccs/ips .
o Note: under native title Regalian Doctrine does not apply, it does not
cover AD/ALs
Native Title Section 3 of IPRA
Minorities have an option to have their native title of ALs recognized under a CALT,
and they have the option as well to have that CALT be registered under the Torrens
Title.
Note: Native title is a right of private ownership peculiarly granted to ICCs/IPs over
their ADs and ALs.
Note: by virtue of the communal concept of ownership, it will defeat the purpose
of the CALT for it to be disposed off. (page 127 Agacoili)
By virtue of the communal character of ownership, the property held in

common cannot be sold, disposed or destroyed because it was meant to benefit the
whole indigenous community and not merely the individual member.
Under Sec. 12 of the ca 141 as amended, or the LRA 496
Individual member of cultural communities, with respect to their individually owned
ALs, who by themselves or through their predecessors- in-interest, have been in
ocen of the same in the concept of owner since time immemorial or for a period of
not less than thirty years immediately preceding the approval of this act and
uncontested by the members of the same Iccs/ IPs shall have the option to secure
title to their ancestral lands under the provisions of CA 141, as amended or the LRA.
For this purpose, said individually-owned ancestral lands, which are
agricultural in character and actually used for agricultural, residential, pasture and
tree farming purposes, including those with a slope of eighteen precent or more, are
hereby classified as alienable and disposable agricultural lands.
the option granted under this section shall be exercised within 20 years from
approval of this act.
Sec. 7 of the IPRA
- under the rights of ICCS and IPs to Ads
Right to claim parts of reservations the right to claim parts of the ancestral
domains which have been reserved for various purposes, except those reserved and
intended for common public welfare and service.
Section. 78 of the IPRA
- Special Provision The city of baguio shall remain to be governed by its
charter and all lands proclaimed as part of its townsite reservation shall
remain as such until otherwise reclassified by appropriate legislation:
Provided, that prior land rights and titles recognized and/or acquired through
any judicial, administrative or other processes before the effectivity of this
Act shall remain valid: Provided, further, that this provisions shall not apply to
any territory which becomes part of the City of Baguio after the effectivity of
this act.
Section 4 of the IRR of IPRA
- Ads are communal they cannot be sold, disposed nor destroyed.
Section 3 of the IRR of IPRA
- ALs within Ads shall remain an integral part thereof and can only be
transferred or otherwise encumbered subject to custmary laws and traditions
of the community where the same is located.
HEIRS of Pucay
Based on the facts theirs I submit that the Heirs of Pucay has native title over their
said lands but said native title cannot be acted upon due to the nature of the native
title and laws of IPRA that allows recognition of the same.
The heirs of pucay being part of a cultural community, and based on the given facts,
they have acquired the requirements for having native title; specifically that they
were in ocen possession of a piece of land since time immemorial. Through the
concept of native title, the said lands they are claiming as stated in jurisprudence,
have never been part of the public domain. Said lands cannot be traced back to a

Spanish Grant therefore the concept of state ownership cannot be applied since the
lands have been presumed to have always been private.
Native Title applies to both Ancestral Domains and Ancestral Lands. In the current
case, the Heirs have native title over Ancestral lands.
The issue is that I submit that they have native title, but said native title has a
different concept as that found in the Civil Code. Their concept of ownership differs
in such a way that said ALs are seen as communal property as opposed to coownership.
They have the requisites to have native title, but the law that allows for recognition,
the IPRA of 1997, provides for a limitation that applies distinctly to their situation.
Native title is subject to Proclamations of the Government for Reservations and
based on a Special provisions lands specifically found in Baguio City are governed
by a Baguio Charter and cant be reclassified unilaterally by the NCIP, which is the
governing commission that grants Native Title to be recognized into the forms of
Certificate of Ancestral Domain or a Certificate of Ancestral Lands.
Thus I submit that the Heirs of Pucay have the requisites for Native Title, but for title
as recognized as a CALT granted by NCIP cannot be recognized due to the limitation
placed out in the IPRA.