The Commission on Audit has called the attention of the Philippine Reclamation Authority for spending on 344 “illegally” reclaimed lands without any financial gain to the government.
State auditors said the illegal reclaimers were the ones who financially benefited.
Government incurred expenditures for travel expenses for monitoring activities on the illegally reclaimed lands, including 292 lands with complete reclamation and with pending applications for titling, 52 lands with cease-and-desist orders and 26 detected unauthorized reclamations.
“The illegal reclaimers, however, seem to enjoy all the economic benefits associated with the use and ownership of reclaimed land from the period of reclamation,” COA’s report read.
The commission took a swipe at PRA for the delayed completion in the legalization process and forfeiture of illegal reclaimed lands.
“The illegal acts committed of reclaiming shorelands without permit from the national government cannot be undone, hence the immediate forfeiture of such property, and subsequent titling thereof in favor of the government appears to be the logical solution which rests with the PRA, Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Office of the President,” COA noted.
It told PRA to end business operations in the disputed reclaimed lands, expedite the submission of required dossiers to DENR for land titling and coordinate with the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel.
“Also, PRA requested from DENR for the conduct of a joint policy review on the various tenurial instruments and department orders of DENR vis-à-vis rules and regulations on reclamation,” it said.
In a related development, the COA said it wants the sale of a 3.6-hectare “illegally” reclaimed land in Looc, Mandaue City, Cebu voided.
State auditors told the PRA to hold the city government culpable for the questionable sale of the 35,821-square meter shoreland property in Barangay Looc for only P1.8 million in 2015.
On Sept. 18, 2015, the Mandaue City government sold the reclaimed area to a private real estate firm—the E.C. Ouano Development and Management Corp. (Ecodemcor)—for just P50 per square meter.
Based on the audit report, there was no record that the property had been appraised and classified as alienable and disposable before it was sold.
“The city government of Mandaue or any private entity has no authority to reclaim and to sell the reclaimed land located in Barangay Looc, Mandaue City, Cebu. PRA has not regulated nor authorized the reclamation as it is yet to conduct inspection,” the report read.
COA cited Opinion No. 162 issued on Aug. 26, 2015 by the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel that the authority to the city government to reclaim land within its territorial jurisdiction had already been revoked by Presidential Decree No. 3-A that vested the power to reclaim lands solely in the national government.
It urged the PRA to conduct an investigation into the transaction and take all legal steps to recover the property.
The PRA management, in a March 19 comment, said its investigative team surveyed the area and found portions of it occupied by informal settlers, while another part was being used as a shipbuilding and repair facility, adding the agency was already building up documentary records on the transaction to trace the veracity of titles and other papers used to support to deed of sale.
“The same shall be referred to the Office of the Solicitor General for guidance and assistance in the filing of a reversion case and/or other legal remedies available to the PRA to protect the interest of the [national government],” the audit report stated, quoting the PRA.