Thursday, June 28, 2007 Congressman allays Irisan folks' apprehension of displacement By Rimaliza Opiña
BAGUIO Representative Mauricio Domogan assured informal residents of Irisan barangay that they would not lose their homes once a revision of the City's Charter gets approved by the 14th Congress.
A provision of House Bill (HB) 3617 being questioned by affected residents there is the titling of alienable and disposable lands within Baguio under the City Government. They claimed that if this happens, actual occupants of lands here might be displaced in favor of those who could afford to bid for the lots.
This apprehension reportedly resulted in Councilor Jose Molintas' filing of a proposed resolution that asked Domogan to conduct an information campaign on the bill's contents so that affected residents could be informed of the implications of alienable and disposable lands being named under the City Government.
The City Council's intervention was likewise sought by affected residents from San Carlos Heights, UP Village and Cypress Point, all in Irisan, recently.
Domogan however said naming alienable and disposals lands under the City Government even facilitates the speedy disposition of public lands as the mandatory public bidding for the granting of townsite sales applications may be dispensed with.
"The apprehension of Councilor Molintas in this regard is without basis. The registration of alienable and disposals lands, which are part of the Baguio Townsite Reservation in the name of the city, is not confiscatory and neither would it deprive vested rights," Domogan explained in a letter to the City Council.
Albeit the existence of a court decision that said Irisan is a forest reserve, Domogan said the decision is not final and that legitimate ancestral land and titled properties are not covered in the amendments, as contained in the bill.
Section 5 of the proposal states that ancestral land claims as recognized by the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act, are considered private property.
He also stressed that Irisan's classification as a forest reserve does not automatically classify it as alienable and disposable.
He reiterated that even granting that the decision will attain finality, "the same are not alienable and disposable and therefore not covered by this proposed revision of the city Charter, and unless reclassified as alienable and disposable, the same cannot be subject of acquisition by private individuals."
Section 3 and 4 of Article II of HB 3617 also states that areas identified for residential purposes shall be awarded and transferred to actual occupants at the rate prescribed by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
A committee composed of the mayor, the chair of the City Council Committee on lands, the heads of the City Planning and Development Coordinating Office, the Register of Deeds and the City Assessor's Office shall be in charge of the disposal of public lands to qualified applicants in accordance with the rules promulgated by the City Council.
