Thursday, August 14, 2008 City dads to mediate between Luz, Lahug
MEMBERS of the Cebu City Council committee of three tasked to resolve the boundary conflict between Luz and Lahug through amicable settlement will meet the two barangays’ representatives next Tuesday.
The committee scheduled the meeting next week to give time for both parties to prepare, and invitations were already sent, City Councilor Gerardo Carillo assured the body in their regular session yesterday.
Barangay Luz claimed that the block where Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino and the Grand Convention Center stand fall within its territory, as the area used to be part of Sitio Wakwak.
Lahug, on the other hand, said that the claim was baseless and argued that the situation is not about a conflict on boundaries but on the alteration of its territorial demarcation.
Carillo said that to possibly come up with a solution acceptable to both barangays, they set the meeting on Aug. 19, 3 p.m., at the City Council caucus room.
Under the Local Government Code of 1991, the council supposedly has just 60 days from the date a boundary dispute is referred to the body for resolution.
Resolution
If the council cannot do so, it should send a certification to the contending parties to that effect. After which, it has 60 more days to hear and settle the conflict if efforts towards peaceful resolution fail.
Carillo said that if the negotiation collapses, the city council will convene itself into a court to formally hear the contending parties, which should present proofs in propping up their claims.
The conflict has taken a political color, with Mayor Tomas Osmeña writing the council last October and asking the body to set the boundary between Lahug and Luz and to adopt the City Planning and Development Office’s (CPDO) recommendations.
The CPDO favored Barangay Luz, rejecting the traditional way of setting boundaries by using Archbishop Reyes Ave. as boundary line, saying Grand Convention and Waterfront is closer to Luz’s barangay hall.
It also gave weight to Luz as the one collecting garbage and keeping the peace in the area.
Boundaries
In their reply to Luz’s resolution, Lahug officials led by Barangay Captain Mary Ann de los Santos are banking on a 1965 city council resolution and a 1966 resolution that defined the boundaries, particularly that of the two barangays.
And though they considered the mayor’s letter a “marching order” for the city council to obey, they asked Vice Mayor Michael Rama and the council members to “respect the territorial jurisdiction of Barangay Lahug.” (RHM)
