2 executives, 11 others face raps over fake land titles

MANILA, Philippines - The Office of the Ombudsman has ordered the filing of charges for falsification of public documents against two officials of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the registry of deeds in Cagayan for allegedly issuing fake land titles in exchange for money.

The Ombudsman also ordered the filing of the same charges against 11 private respondents based on a complaint lodged by Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile who earlier had requested the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to investigate the anomalous issuance of spurious land titles in Sta. Ana, Cagayan.

Ordered charged with 10 counts of falsification under Article 171 of the Revised Penal Code were Alejandrino Cabanilla, land management specialist of the DENR’s Land Management Bureau, and Iderlina Icobeza, land registration examiner of the Cagayan registry of deeds.

Also charged were private respondents Pedro Gambala, Protecto Damaso Sr., Renato Avila, Zosimo Alconcel Jr., Martin Juan, Benjamin Otrillo Sr., Wilfredo Inggan, Eufreserio Damaso Sr., Rodolfo Gambala, Maricon Gonzalez and Felix Ebuenga Sr.

An investigation conducted by the NBI revealed that in early 2006, the private respondents allegedly engaged the services of Cabanilla to follow up their long-standing applications for homestead. 

Cabanilla eventually came up with Original Certificates of Title (OCTs) covering several lots in Sta. Ana town that he endorsed to Icobeza for registration before the documents were delivered to the private respondents. 

Cabanilla allegedly prepared the titles by forging the signatures of deceased persons, while Icobeza allegedly assigned the title numbers and filed them in the vault of the registry of deeds. 

Records further revealed that six of the private respondents – Pedro and Rodolfo Gambala, Avila, Juan, Ebuenga, and Inggan – were able to sell the lots covered by the spurious titles to PR Bank for P20,000 per hectare, while the others made offers to sell their lots to property developers.