BAGUIO City Mayor Benjamin Magalong has dialogued with the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) on properties in the city.
Magalong said the plan to transform the vacant space at the Baguio Convention Center into a tree park was presented, as well as a request for the agency to build a parking facility at the PNR compound.
"In principle, they already approved, will be converted to a real park, we have presented to them conceptual design of tree park," Magalong said.
Earlier, after the uproar caused by talks that a mall will buy the land and convert it into condominium units, GSIS released a statement saying it will continue to preserve the lone tree park in Baguio City and decline to sell the land where the park lies.
Magalong said he has also asked GSIS to build a parking building at the PNR compound to help the city ease congestion and lack of parking spaces.
He said the requests are now being taken up by the GSIS board and he hopes for a positive outcome from the GSIS top brass.
The GSIS property in front of Baguio Water District has long been eyed to become a parking facility by the city but is constrained by the high selling price of GSIS.
Magalong said acquisition by the city of the property is out of the question as the price of both properties are too high for the local government unit to afford.
Councilor Maylen Yaranon earlier asked President Rodrigo Duterte to help Baguio City acquire the idle GSIS property at the PNR.
Yaranon was eyeing the idle lot owned by the GSIS located at DPS-Marcoville Barangay to be utilized as a central bus terminal, relocating the central bus terminal from Governor Pack Road to DPS Marcoville Baranagy that will make the traffic flow smooth at the former road and will make the GSIS lot productive.
Yaranon said the existing Baguio central bus terminal is located on Governor Pack Road with more than five bus companies operating from the city to any point in Luzon, causing congestion.