MANILA – Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero on Thursday expressed alarm over the 12,482 public school sites that have no title and which could be subjected to property disputes, frequent transfer of location, revocations of donations of lots where they are situated, and urban planning and development programs of the local government units (LGUs).
“DepEd data shows that as of 2015, it owns a total of 48,740 school sites all over the country, but only 36,258 of these have ownership or occupation documents under the DepEd’s name,” said Escudero, chairman of the Senate committee on environment and natural resources.
With this, Escudero urged colleagues for the immediate passage of Senate Bill 1730 or An Act Providing Summary Titling of Real Properties used as Public School Sites to ensure that the government has legal ownership over these lands and to avoid property disputes.
“These legal disputes hinder the adequate education of our youth. It has negative impacts on the overall development of the nation in tapping and harnessing the talents of the Filipino youth, if schools, considered as their second abode, are constantly threatened with legal disputes and uncertainties,” Escudero said.
In most cases, Escudero said, public schools sites are owned by LGUs or are subject to long-term lease agreements with private individuals. In some cases, parcels of lands were donated but lacked the proper legal documentation and support on the transfer of ownership.
“We have seen and heard cases that upon the death of the donors, heirs claim ownership of the land through revocation of the original donation. These result in endless court litigations,” Escudero said. “The passage of this bill will pave the way for simplifying the process of land titling registration of almost 90 percent of school sites in favor of the DepEd.”
Once passed, the measure will cover all sites of public schools utilized for five years under the DepEd, such as public domain lands and those which are owned, whether registered or otherwise by persons or entities other than the education department. This will also enable school authorities to have direct control and supervision over these lands.
Geo-hazard zones
In the same hearing of the environment committee on Wednesday, Escudero asked DepEd to consider geo-hazard zones and multi-hazard mapping when acquiring school sites in order to ensure the safety of students.
He also told the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) that his committee will also look into its request to include state universities and colleges (SUCs) in the proposal pending submission of pertinent data information.
According to Escudero, this measure is one of 38 pending bills being heard by the environment committee, which is now being consolidated by a technical working group.
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