This was explained by Councilor Jose Molintas, who said one provision of the proposal might put city residents at a disadvantage, since they would lose priority in the application for public lands.
Molintas referred to a provision of House Bill (HB) 3617 or the Act Revising the Charter of Baguio City, where it proposes among others that all alienable and disposable lands within the Baguio townsite reservation shall be named under the city. The proposal is supposed to address the proper implementation of the development plan of the city, in accordance with the land use plan.
But Molintas said there is a danger in this proposal. "The other purposes of the revision of the Charter of Baguio may be laudable, but the act of having lands titled in the name of the City might deprive priority rights over public lands, without due process of law," he explained in a proposed resolution.
For this reason, Molintas urged Baguio City Representative Mauricio Domogan to initiate first an information campaign of the bill's pertinent provisions to all stakeholders for a better and clearer understanding of the implications of the proposals, before Congress approves it once it resumes its next session.
