Too many brokers spoil the broth!

What a country! If you’re the lucky few who own land via a Torrens Title, it is not guarantee that the land that your parents may have bequeath to you is yours for suddenly it may no longer belong to you because of some corrupt government official (or worse, a judge) who agrees to “manipulate” documents to make it appear that it was someone else’s property.

While I’m referring to privately-owned land, just look at what’s happening to our timberlands! We learned from my good friend, Gen. Tiburcio “Tiboy” Fusilero that some individuals have already purchased lots in Barangay Tabunan, which is part of the forested or timberland which is supposedly non-alienable. I suspect that Gen. Fusilero’s report is merely the tip of the iceberg! He has tagged our friend Mariquita Salimbangon-Yeung, sister of Rep. Ben-Hur Salimbangon as one who bought a property in Tabunan. Was she a buyer in good faith? Who brokered this particular deal?

Mind you, this story isn’t really new. A controversy in Bo. Kang-Irag blew up in the 90s when the Cebu Holding’s Corp. then under Mr. Sulpicio Tagud bought into a Watershed area for the Ayala Heights subdivision, a decision that cost him his job. What happened there was, the broker of that deal most probably promised him that the land wasn’t inside the Watershed area, but in the end, it was! So do you still wonder why we have titles for lands that are even underwater?

On the controversial Balili property, there are people who have been tagged as the “broker” of that deal. Truth to tell, there are just too many “brokers” in this country who are not really authorized brokers or licensed brokers in accordance to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) who gives the examinations for brokerage. Nor are they members of the Chamber of Real Estate and Builders Association (Creba) Cebu Realtors Board or the (CRB) Mandaue-Mactan Realtors Board (MMRB). So, who brokered this deal? Was he a licensed broker?

Worse, people who own lands often sell them to corrupt individuals who by their corrupt nature, end up corrupting an already corrupt judge to rule in their favor for some retirement money. This is happening in Cebu. It makes me sick that nothing is being done to stop it. We complain about the corruption in Malacañang, but corruption is prevalent even in the private sector by many unscrupulous people engaged in real estate property. When will all these shenanigans end? I reckon that all this would stop when Justice will reign in this country. 

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Here we are calling for change in our system of governance, yet we only see the evil inside the hearts of men for power or profit! Perhaps this is why we are attracted to join the Moral Force Movement (MFM) that Supreme Court Chief Justice Reynato Puno launched the other day. It’s about time that we come up with a Movement for Good Governance not just for Election Day because good governance is needed day after day, year after year.

I understand that many judges here in Cebu led by Regional Trial Court Judge Meinrado Paredes have backed this call by the Supreme Court Chief Justice for a Moral Recovery Program. But then, is this mere lip service just because it is the Chief Justice who started this program? Let us see if our judges would “walk-the-talk”. Count me in, Judge Paredes on what projects or programs you would initiate under the MFM.

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Kudos to my good friend Atty. Antonio “Onyot” Oposa for receiving the very prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award for his Environmental Advocacy. I was one of the first journalists that Tony Oposa convinced that we must fight with vigor because he had the statistics to prove that Mother Earth was truly warming and yes, his crusade to stop commercial fishing in the Visayan Sea was something short of remarkable. But it was marred by tragedy when our good friend, Mr. Jojo dela Victoria whom I worked in the Market Committee in Cebu City was shot and killed for this advocacy.

I’m glad that Atty. Oposa recognized the valiant efforts of Jojo dela Victoria who was with him in the Visayan Sea Squadron when they arrested the big time commercial fisher groups that apparently had arrest warrants that were unserved due to their political connections. A few days ago, Tony Oposa texted me that playful dolphins were seen in the waters between the Ports of Hagnaya and Sta. Fe which is visible proof that if we stopped dynamite fishing, marine life will flourish once more as they are able to replenish their young. So let’s get rid of commercial fishing in the Visayan Sea!

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