The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Region 2 has partnered for land titling activities with 12 local government units (LGUs) in the provinces of Batanes, Cagayan, Isabela and Nueva Vizcaya.

 

DENR Regional Executive Director Gwendolyn Bambalan signed yesterday a Memorandum of Partnership Agreement (MOPA) with the local chief executives of Ivana, Batanes; Baggao, Buguey, Lal-lo, Sanchez Mira and Solana in Cagayan; Cordon, Reina Mercedes and Tumauini in Isabela; and Bayombong, Solano and Villaverde in Nueva Vizcaya.

 

The said partnership according to DENR Assistant Regional Director Marcos Dacanay will be an avenue for the DENR to conduct land-titling related activities within the territorial jurisdiction of the said LGU partners. The local government are expected to provide administrative and logistic support to the activities to be implemented.

 

In her message, Director Bambalan emphasized the benefit of land management partnership in the LGUs to attain an organized and smooth flow of land titling procedures as the constituents will be directly involved in the titling process.

 

“Our partnership will not only serve as a mechanism to facilitate land titling in eligible areas but also will settle land dispute as the LGUs are enjoined to participate and discuss with us the resolution of their land problems and issues,” RED Bambalan said.

 

She underscored that upon realizing the distribution of titles to community beneficiaries, the said partnership will make the recipients happy and contented as they will be acquiring the sense of ownership to the lots they possess.

 

“It will also later on create additional revenue on the part of the LGUs because of the potential improvement in the business industry and entrepreneurship,” she added.

 

While the LGUs have vital role in the implementation of land titling in their respective localities, the DENR assured the mayors to fulfill a decent and just land titling procedures.

 

“We will not tolerate our land titling activities to be tainted with corruption in our agency. We will be issuing the list of requirements and the corresponding minimal fees to be collected from our land titling recipients,” the DENR Region 2 chief said.

 

The chief executives committed their full support in the whole land titling operation in their respective towns. They recognized the efforts of the DENR for initiating the MOPA. According to them, the creation of land management office in the local government level will surely address and resolve land problems besetting their municipalities.

 

Engr. Eliseo Mabasa of the Licenses, Patents and Deeds Division, concerned Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Officers and Community Environment and Natural Resources Officers, and some officials of the LGUs witnessed the virtual MOPA signing.#