COA tells Naga to get titles for lots

CEBU, Philippines - Officials of Naga,Cebu were told by the Commission on Audit (COA) to secure Certificates of Title of the 26 parcels of land purchased and fully paid but were not yet transferred to the name of the local government.

Most lots owned by Naga for years now were only have tax declarations as proof of ownership, the COA said in its audit report covering the year 2009.

This is in violation of Section 449 of the Government Accounting and Auditing Manual which provides that “land purchased by agencies of the Government shall be evidenced by a Torrens Title drawn in the name of the Republic of the Philippines, or such other documents satisfactory to the President of the Philippines that the title is vested in the Government.”

These titles and documents shall accompany the vouchers covering the purchase of land, after which they shall be forwarded to the Records Management and Archives Office.

Section 148 of the COA Circular 92-386, also states that, “every local chief executive shall be immediately responsible for the proper and effective use and management of real estate owned or titled in the name of the local government unit. He shall ensure that all real estate under his responsibility are registered, under the Torrens Title System and safeguard from squatters, unlawful occupants or the like.”

COA verification of the proof of ownership of real property belonging to Naga revealed that only one parcel of land have a certificate of title while all other real properties have only tax declarations.

Naga’s accounting office did not maintain a complete record of the parcels of land owned by the local government. The subsidiary ledger also does not have complete information of the lands purchased. Property ledger card for the Land account was not maintained. Moreover, the General Service Office does not have record of real properties owned by Naga, stated the auditors.

Naga officials assured COA that it will comply with the recommendations, which include appropriating funds for the titling of the lands. (FREEMAN)