The Baguio City Council, in a resolution, has requested the City Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO)-Baguio to work with the city government for the conduct of a perimeter survey of the Workingmen’s Village.
A perimeter survey is undertaken to establish the exact boundaries of a land and to define its accurate size.
The Workingmen’s Village is adjacent to the Busol Watershed which has been established as a forest reservation by virtue of Proclamation No. 15, s. 1987.
Evelyn Wales, representative of CENRO-Baguio, told the council the perimeter survey of the Busol Watershed had already been conducted 10 years ago. However, to date, no perimeter survey has been done yet for the Workingmen’s Village.
The Workingmen’s Village, a settlement area covered by Proclamation No. 358, s. 1938, is a parcel of land administered by the city government with a total area of 31.8 hectares. It stretches to some parts of Barangays Ambiong-Baguio, East Bayan Park, Brookspoint, and Pacdal.
The rules and regulations in the disposition of lots in the said area are prescribed in Ordinance 65-1938.
Under the ordinance, all applications for either house or lot, or both, shall be subject to the endorsement of the city council.
Applications for lots found to be within the Workingmen’s Village shall be considered and processed while applications for lots situated within the Busol Watershed shall be denied.
Wales said there are lands outside the watershed which cannot be ascertained at the moment whether or not they are part of the Workingmen’s Village.
Councilor Betty Lourdes Tabanda said the metes and bounds of the Workingmen’s Village need to be accurately defined through a perimeter survey in order to address concerns regarding the approval or denial of applications.
It can be remembered that a group of claimants residing in Ambiong-Baguio, East Bayan Park, Brookspoint, and Pacdal have been lobbying for the segregation of an inhabited portion of the Busol watershed forest reserve as their residential area.
Wales said their applications were previously endorsed by the city council but were denied because the land being occupied was found to be within the forest reservation.
Proclamation No. 358, s. 1938 which covers the Workingmen’s Village was revoked or disestablished by virtue of Proclamation No. 364, s. 1953 and the land in question was declared open to disposition under the Public Land Act (Republic Act No. 730).
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is the agency in charge of the administration and disposition of alienable lands. The CENRO is a component of the DENR which accepts, conducts investigation and appraisal on, and processes public land applications.
The mode of disposition applied by the CENRO for lots within the Workingmen’s Village is the Residential Free Patent under Republic Act No. 10023, an act authorizing the issuance of free patents to residential lands.
One requirement asked by CENRO from the applicants for Residential Free Patent is a council resolution endorsing their applications in consideration to Ordinance 65-1938.
Councilor Isabelo Consalan, Jr. said the CENRO and the city government could collaborate in order to come up with the crafting of the subdivision plan of the Workingmen’s village.
A subdivision plan is prepared by a land surveyor showing parcels of land intended for individual sale.
Wales said a subdivision plan was previously prepared in compliance with Ordinance 65-1938. However, the plan was not followed by the occupants which resulted in a number of boundary disputes. **Jordan G. Habbiling
