BAGUIO CITY — The Baguio City Assessor’s Office is warning the public about a “sangla titulo” scheme, where fake or forged land titles are used to fraudulently pawn property.

Baguio City Assessor Normita Ramon stated that her office has received reports from individuals who were victims of people using counterfeit real estate titles and tax declarations as collateral to secure loans.

“These people agree to provide the money, some out of trust and confidence, and some just relying on government IDs shown to them, not knowing that these were also fake,” Ramon said.

She said the victims didn’t verify the authenticity of the documents presented to them first. Then, when payment time came and they couldn’t collect, they came to the city assessor’s office to verify, only to find out that the documents they were holding were spurious.

Ramon confirmed that her office has seized several fake titles and tax declarations from those who came in for verification.

She said that other institutions, such as the Bureau of Internal Revenue and local banks, have also sent verification inquiries due to the prevalence of counterfeit documents. She added that these fake documents are also used in land transactions, and in some cases, genuine documents are sometimes altered to falsely show that a mortgage has been recorded with the office.

To help the public avoid becoming a victim, Ramon advised people to be cautious before giving money to anyone selling or mortgaging a house or land. She advised requesting a copy of the title or tax declaration and obtaining an authorization letter from the seller or mortgagor to verify the details at the Assessor’s Office.