A MORATORIUM on the construction of high rise buildings in Baguio City is favored by the dean of the College of Architecture and Engineering and Urban Planning of Baltimore, Maryland, who happens to be a Baguio girl.
In the weekly Talakayan sa Environment Code forum of the Baguio Regreening Movement (BRM), dean Maryanne Alabanza said considering that Baguio City has reached its carrying capacity, the more it needs to disrupt the construction of building.
“I’m all for it and I know that it is not a politically correct answer because the business people and the construction people are going to say well, we also need businesses. But if you want to have a quality city, you also have to disrupt the normal patterns, and one of the disruptions is stop constructing and again, we’ve reached our carrying capacity,” Alabanza said.
BRM have earlier welcomed the possible implementation of a temporary moratorium for building construction in the city by insisting and even enforcing existing ordinances relevant to building construction in Baguio City.
“Whenever I come home, I try to give a lecture on what we can do in Baguio. I think we’ve really reached the carrying capacity already and if we really don’t do something about that and be disruptive and actually pause all these developments, were doomed for disasters,” the urban planner stated.
During the Senate hearing in Baguio City spearheaded by Richard Gordon tackling the bill creating a development authority for Baguio, La Trinidad, Itogon, Sablan, Tuba and Tublay (BLISTT), Undersecretary Adoracion Navarro of the Regional Development Office of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) stated aside from moratorium of buildings, there should be focus on the underlying principle which is the carrying capacity of the city.
“We have tried to control it and nothing is being done, the impact of controlling is not anymore a good solution and I truly believe in disruption which means, enough is enough just like what they did with Boracay where they completely stopped for six months, and I really think we should do something like that in Baguio,” Alabanza reiterated.
When asked if she would extend support to the incoming new administration of the city, the urban planner agreed and encourage something to be acted upon.
“Baguio used to be a very-very pleasant city, the model city for the Philippines, for Asia but if we don’t do something about it, there’s got to be political will and yes, I am very - very open to assisting the government coming up with more locally based innovative ways and solutions than things that we borrow from the West which doesn’t necessarily mean is applicable here,” Alabanza added.