Gunmen disrupt House body public hearing

Over 30,000 residents of Pangarap Village in Caloocan City scored a major victory in their long-running legal battle with Gregorio Araneta III and his family yesterday.

The Land Management Bureau (LMB), during an onsite public hearing of the House Justice Committee at the Caloocan-San Jose del Monte, Bulacan boundary, recommended to the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) the filing of a case reverting the disputed 156-hectare property to the government.

The public hearing, however, had to be cut short when at least four armed men, suspected to be hired guards of the Aranetas, fired their guns at around noon in Lower Tawi-Tawi, several meters away from the Holy Spirit Parish Church apparently to disrupt the proceedings. No one was reported hurt.

In its 10-page report to the committee chaired by Samar Rep. Marcelino Libanan, the LMB said the case will seek the cancellation of the transfer certificate of titles (TCTs) of Carmel Farms Inc. (now Carmel Development Inc.) of the Aranetas and the return of the lots to the government and ultimately to the legitimate lot owners covered by the said titles.

"[By this turn of events] Pangarap (literally, "dream") Village will not only remain a dream but a reality for you all. The reversion case initiated by Rep. (Enrico) Echiverri has turned the wheels of justice. We are behind him as we are behind you. We will not let go of this," Libanan assured the residents.

The OSG, in symbolic turnover rites of the LMB findings at the filled to capacity Holy Spirit Parish Church in the village, urged the residents to help them in the documentation process so they can study and evaluate the issue very well as they prepared the pleading for the case to be filed.

"We promise to study and act on all reports and give feedback. We will apply all legal remedies but we need your cooperation – to stop the demolition and the harassment," OSG representative Derek Puertollano III said. – Jerry Botial