AFTER several decades of waiting, at least 15 families received their titles in a deed-signing ceremony held at the Governor’s Office in Adelup yesterday. The parcels of land were previously under the jurisdiction of the Guam Community College.
Last year, Sen. Ben Pangelinan introduced Bill 206, now Public Law 31-134, which sought to transfer properties under GCC to the jurisdiction of the Guam Ancestral Lands Commission.
According to the provisions stated in Bill 206, prior to the enactment of the Organic Act, the federal government “administered islandwide leaseholds on private property starting in July 1946.” In addition, the federal government conveyed several properties to GCC in 1990.
Monte Mafnas, director of the Department of Land Management, called the deed-signing a historic event and cited the assistance of the Legislature and the Calvo administration as instrumental in the successful turnover of properties to the original landowners.
“They have been waiting for five decades to get to this point in time. It is quite historic because the condemnation happened in 1950. Whether it was fair, everyone has their own opinion. But this is manna from heaven. They have received their lands back,” Mafnas explained.
He said their goal is to convey more land to the rightful owners within two to four years.
“Twenty years ago, it was given to GCC for their use. Years have gone by and nothing has been done. Now that it was released to us, we are glad to release it to them,” remarked David Camacho, DLM deputy director.
“Through the help of Sen. Pangelinan, they enacted a law to transfer the property from Guam Community College. We are going to keep doing this. There are other properties that the government is still holding,” Camacho added.
Finally returned
After waiting for decades, Rosario Baza Anderson, who represented her family during the deed-signing yesterday, said she couldn’t believe the land has been finally returned back to their family.
“It is a miracle that this has happened. It’s been so long,” Anderson said.
According to Mafnas, the turnover of deeds yesterday merits substantial acknowledgment. In the past, he said, they have only awarded one or two for a long period of time.
“We are working on this expeditiously for the rightful owners and we welcome everyone to find out if they have a claim of interest. We welcome everyone to go to through the exercise and there is hope in the event they don’t get their land back. We are creating a land bank so at least they can get some money in the future. That is our goal at this point and time,” he concluded.
According to documents from the DLM, the land bank is a system set up “for those dispossessed original landowners who will never realize the return of their ancestral lands.”
