The Baguio City Council has ordered the conduct of a land survey at Camp Allen Barangay in a bid to help resolve a longstanding dispute between a veterans’ organization and the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) over the ownership and boundaries of a parcel of land within the military reservation.
In a June 8 interview, Councilor Peter Fianza, chairperson of the City Council’s Committee on Lands, said a joint relocation survey by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and other concerned offices should be conducted to determine the exact boundaries of the property and establish which party has jurisdiction over the disputed area.
Fianza said maintaining the observance of the status quo previously imposed by the city government relative to land disputes within all military reservations in the city (including Camp Allen) is proper to allow the conduct of the survey which would ultimately help resolve the land dispute.
The dispute was brought before the City Council on June 1, 2026 when members of the United States Armed Forces in the Philippines-North Luzon Baguio Benguet Chapter (USAFIP-NL BBC) and heirs of World War II veterans complained that a PMA construction project allegedly encroached on their claimed area and displaced portions of a banana plantation. The group said all ground activities should have been suspended pending a proper survey.
The group’s land claim is anchored on Proclamation No. 424, issued by former President Ferdinand Marcos, which excluded a 3,000-sqm portion of land from Proclamation No. 254 that established Camp Allen or the Philippine Constabulary Reservation. Proclamation No. 424 specifically grants USAFIP-NL the right to use the lot in question.
Early records also show that in 2019, USAFIP-NL BBC requested former President Rodrigo Duterte to approve the segregation of the 3,000-sqm land from the military reservation, as well as the recognition of an additional 1,727-sqm area where its headquarters and flagpole are located.
Upon learning of the group’s complaint before the City Council, Lt. Col. Julesther Cañada, PMA’s Real Estate Officer, reiterated the institution’s position that Camp Allen is a military reservation under TCT No. 1390 and is under the jurisdiction of the PMA, Armed Forces of the Philippines, and Department of National Defense, citing its role in national defense.
Cañada also stressed that the group that appeared before the City Council (USAFIP-NL BBC) are not affiliated with nor recognized as representatives of USAFIP-NL under the Veterans Federation of the Philippines, and therefore lack the legal personality to enter into formal negotiations involving government property.
Meanwhile, a report from the City Buildings and Architecture Office (CBAO) shows that a survey plan by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and a plotted survey by the CBAO indicated that the structure covered by a building permit application filed by USAFIP-NL BBC through BGen. Ernesto Bueno is outside the coverage of Proclamation No. 424.
The CBAO report further shows that USAFIP-NL did not agree with the findings, prompting the office to require the group to submit its own relocation survey reflecting the structure’s position in relation to Proclamation No. 424. As of this writing, no such submission has been received.
Amid these conflicting claims, the City Council has maintained the status quo while preparing for a joint relocation survey to reconcile overlapping findings from earlier assessments and help clarify the contested boundaries.
Fianza said he is currently reviewing all available documents related to the property to better understand the competing claims as the City Council seeks a clearer basis for resolving the dispute. **Jordan G. Habbiling
