Sunday, April 30, 2006
Hotel reopening renews boundary feud
By Rene H. Martel
CEBU CITY -- The reopening of a hotel atop Nivel Hills in Cebu City has revived the boundary dispute between Barangays Apas and Lahug.
But Apas Barangay chief Clemente Rosales said he has the upper hand after Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña promised the row will be settled soon in his favor.
Rosales belongs to Osmeña's Bando Osmeña-Pundok Kauswagan, while Lahug Barangay Captain Mary Ann Delos Santos, although an independent, has been viewed as an opposition.
Determining which barangay Marco Polo Plaza falls under is crucial because the barangay will get a share of the realty tax the hotel pays to the City Government.
Both Rosales and delos Santos showed up along with City Hall officials during the grand opening of Marco Polo Plaza last Thursday.
Lahug's claim
Delos Santos based Lahug's claim of jurisdiction on the property on the 1965 Cebu City map, which shows the barangay's territory reaching up to Nivel Hills, where the hotel stands.
Lahug's conflict with Apas started in 2003 but the Cebu City Planning Office, where the matter was referred to by the City Council, has failed until now to give its report.
The dispute already reached the court, which referred it back to the City Council, being the sole body that has authority under the Local Government Code to define barangay boundary demarcations.
Under the Local Government Code, the City council has 60 days from the date the matter is referred to the body to resolve the disagreement.
If it cannot do so, the council should send a certification to the concerned parties to that effect. After which, it has 60 more days to hear and settle the conflict.
A check of the Cebu City Government's website, www.cebucity.gov.ph, shows that Lahug's area goes beyond Salinas Drive up to the gate of the Central Command headquarters, and follows a straight line down to the corner of Archbishop Reyes Ave.
That means, according to the map, the old Lahug airport, where the Asiatown IT Park is located, is still part of Lahug.
Website
According to the website map, Lahug can also claim that Marco Polo Plaza is under its jurisdiction because Nivel Hills is still part of its area.
Notes posted in the website, however, state that each of the barangay maps, which the City's Geographic Information System Center prepared, is "subject for validation."
Barangays often fight over boundaries, especially when it concerns business establishments, because they have a share of real estate taxes paid to the City Government.
City Planning Officer Nigel Paul Villarete, interviewed after the boundary conflict between Lahug and Luz also simmered last year, said that what is needed is a joint survey, which will take into consideration other aspects such as existing plans and opinions of residents in the disputed area.
If no agreement is reached, it is the Cebu City Council that has the final say on the boundaries of two barangays.
Permits
Rosales, in a telephone interview, said he overheard the mayor assuring a businessman owning establishments in Nivel Hills that the area is in Apas, not in Lahug.
In fact, he said, Marco Polo asked for business, fencing, and renovation permits from Apas.
City Councilors close to the mayor also advised him to just sit back and wait because Villarete is expected to come up with his recommendations soon. (Sun.Star Cebu)
(April 30, 2006 issue)
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