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Jenks, Albert Ernest, 1869-1953

"The Bontoc Igorot"

They say the right to such unoccupied
property would be recognized perpetually if there were heirs. At
least it is true that there are now acres of unused lands, once
palay sementeras, which have not been cultivated for two generations
because water can not be run to them, and the property right of the
grandsons of the men who last cultivated them is recognized. However,
if one leaves vacant any unirrigated agricultural mountain lands --
used for millet, maize, or beans -- another person may claim and
plant them in one year's time, and no one disputes his title.

Real property of group
All real property accumulated by a man and woman in marriage is their
joint property as long as both live and remain in union.
No form of real property, except forests, can be the joint property
of other individuals than man and wife. Forests are most commonly the
property of a considerable group of people -- the descendants of a
single ancestral owner. The lands as well as the trees are owned, and
the sale of trees carries no right to the land on which they grow. It
is impossible even to estimate the value of any one's forest property,
but it is true that persons are recognized as rich or poor in forests.


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