Land anent Ancestry has its authentic manifestation in the precept land must not be sold but passes from one generation to the next. My grandfather's capacity to accumulate land is an occurrence of no surprise. For a prominent war hero sharper than those Yamashita devil dogs; Lolo Tatang received a fortune of Veteran's back pay. This was in a time when the regional economy was in its infant stage, transitioning away tribe practices of communal structure; aside farm life devastations coming out of world conflict. Uncles, aunts and distant relatives who had not enough, sold land to Dennis Masaao Molintas.
Noteworthy in contrast defeats in "kinetic charlie foxtrot" by others who simply carry advocacies to the grave----my Grandfather's convictions put down many years of prestigious glory; resounding across the Cordillera a fame of confidence squarely of the Palace. Seemingly born into authority, leadership came quite naturally; without need to assuage power or coerce for wealth.
For sheer kindness and sharp sense of responsibility, my grandfather looked after everybody. Beyond expectation, Dennis turned up parent by default and put through university the children of his father in succeeding nuptial----even when siblings born after himself had not advance through schooling and wed promptly. But of course the mindset then was an entirely different story. There was no such thing as half-blood, and kinship civilities were performed with a tacit understanding of shared responsibility.
Not anymore.
My grandfather failed to institutionalise leadership depth and his strongest trait of simplicity. Thus his empire swiftly eroded after his passing in 1974. Shades of nuances set in with the growing capability disparity between families of his first batch of siblings who run the farms and brought food to the urban region and the second batch of siblings, my grandfather put through university.
Across generations, the adaptation of traditional land practices had been constrained by cost. The obsession for ownership escalated as these lands changed hands at helm. The importance of tradition diminished by the misuse or abuse of land, in a ridicule of ignorance on who owns what -----and the swelling secrecy of offenses.
In 1985, Dennis Junior executed fall from grace in an abrupt, tragic voyage to the ancestry.
Four years after, by opportune of offensive, the Dennis Molintas Domain----had been abolished from the national grid and snagged. His grandchildren who were barely into college were shoved into hardship of the Gulag; out of sheer envy and greed of my fathers cousins.
Lolo Tatang's estate had taken shape as an ancestral domain of clustered lots between two barangays of Bokod that composed of titled lands. All these were buried in the general cadastral survey by cousins of my father and listed in the names of the semi-sibling parents. Borders were deliberately made to overlap, with at least one monument disabled on every titled property. A couple of these overlapping lots were swiftly sold. Worst is many cover up stories were fabricated like an imitation of the tale of the tragedy of the commons, in real tribe life mangle of all Dennis Molintas lands.
Shame.
A gravest crime against own blood in the history of the Ybaloi. A despicable deception that disintegrated a generation of glory into a generation of greed. With too much hunger to assuage power by taking possession of lands of those born into succession. It was an offense against the man who took responsibility as a parent by default: To better your lives.
Yet not enough.
A few yards shy of hell, these land thugs came after the GSIS accrued checks of my grandmother and tore her ancestral land apart. Prodding cousins of my father on his other side and even panning out acts of terrorism.
Up to now, my family takes sacrifices to afford your accommodation.
"The law is a sacred sanction, commanding what is right and prohibiting the contrary."
All landholding of Dennis Molintas and wife, are belongings that date back into 1945 or earlier----thus cannot be the object of prescription. By virtue of jurisprudence, these lands have ceased to be part of the sphere of public dominion and have become private property (The Land Act). Unless repudiated by the law itself from the subject compulsory heirs, these properties are immutable and untouchable. By intestate succession, the descendants come first; and the surviving spouse comes fourth (The Law of Succession). By so, the grandchildren are the owners of these Landholdings by way of an imperfect title.
Ybaloi Law & Ritual, 1920 Suita too kakoato suta chaga i chaga nan amato ono apoto (The man owns the land which was the land of his father or ancestor)
Ancestral land is sacrosanct as it is anent Ancestry. He comes to you who caused upon disproportionately great strain; for condemnation in the sternest possible measure. Japaskayo'd chi kalotoan. Num sikayo inpanogip ngiay; ipankasatjo nankapi num sikayo'n angikan inogipto.
A huge debt of gratitude goes out for all the help of Lolo Tatang's old guards : BANTAS SUANDING and ANDRES COSALAN, their children and families.
Notes
American military records note the return of Capt. Volkmann to the Philippines, for the payout of army notes and vouchers before proceeding to the Korean war.
Dennis put children of his father in successive nuptial through university. Yet whenever able, facilitated job placement: Wright Molintas, Moreno Molintas, Antonia Nazarro, Beatrice Ulad, and Sonia Celino------even when his old man Ogues had not advanced through schooling siblings born right after himself; and who promptly wed: Rita Culti, Juana Suayan and Juanita Sanchez. Two of his brothers were utterly independent: Benneth was a handsome teacher on foot who moved swiftly up as a School Master to settle down in Tabuk; and the adventurous Avelino who is the youngest among brothers, joined the US Navy.
Children of the siblings of his wife were also helped through university: Florentine and Remedios; Victor, Alejandra and Cecilia. Faustina and Denver, Elizabeth and George, Jane, Hugo and Susan
The young wife of Dennis remarried and migrated to America to live with the only daughter, Lou. Dennis Junior the only son, who was ten years in age at the victory of WW2, turned out as the tribe brat. Very special and brilliant, if not for a streak of flamboyant manhood and unruly alcoholism. Junior's knack for science and genius in mathematics came alongside glaring failures: Junior abandoned PMA after becoming Baron and failed the political exercise in an attempt to be Governor.
The audacity of your family to nastily slaughter my grandparents over dinner discussion is my lasting wound. You leave me no choice but to execute stern measures
