Baguio officials warn public against company issuing fake land titles

Baguio City, Philippines - Officials in Baguio City warn the public against a company allegedly issuing fake land titles.

This comes after an entity named "Bagong Lahing Pilipino Multipurpose Cooperative" was reported for proliferating fraudulent Torrens titles and claiming authority under the Real Property Act of 1958 and Republic Act 8371, otherwise known as the Indigenous People's Rights Act of 1997.

Through a resolution authored by Councilor Maximo Edwin, Jr., the public is urged to be vigilant against unscrupulous individuals regarding the issuance of fake land titles by reporting them to the authorities.

According to the council, the organization is registered with the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA) and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and has targeted indigenous cultural communities and indigenous people throughout the country.

Recently, the legislators have received copies of fake land titles covering 305 square meters in St. Joseph Village and 54,875 square meters in Loakan Liwanag.

These documents were both issued by Bagong Lahing Pilipino Development Foundation, Inc., which are fake but may appear to be legitimate to an untrained or ‘average person’.

In 2019, the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) in Cordillera also received a complaint regarding a fraudulent title covering a parcel of land in La Trinidad, Benguet issued by the company.

The NCIP and the Indigenous Peoples Mandatory Representatives League of the Philippines state that the BLP Multipurpose Cooperative continues its operations but assumes other names such as BLP Cooperative and BLP Development Foundation Incorporated.

As an initial action, copies of the resolution will be distributed to all 128 barangays, NCIP Baguio and regional offices, Registry of Deeds, and other concerned offices for information, guidance, ready reference, and further action needed.