BAGUIO CITY – A total of 141 structures were identified by the City Buildings and Architecture Office (CBAO) to have been illegally built within the 3-hectare City Camp Lagoon area covering four barangays that was previously reserved by the city government for city needs.
In a report, Engr. Angel B. Nerveza which was duly reviewed by Engr. Orlando L. Genove and transmitted to Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan by Arch. Johnny A. Degay, city building official, the identified illegal structures were distributed in barangays Lower Rock Quarry, Middle Rock Quarry, Lourdes Subdivision Extension and City Camp Central.
However, Egay stated five of the structures were issued the appropriate building permits although the city anti-squatting committee can still conduct a through investigation on the circumstances behind the issuance of the said permits to the concerned individuals who built their structures within the declared city reserve area.
Earlier, Mayor Domogan ordered the conduct of an inventory of all illegal structures that were built within the 3-hectare City Camp Lagoon area which was previously declared for city needs in order to prepare the necessary steps towards the issuance of the required summary demolition orders in order to clear the property from obstructions in the future.
“The local government is inclined to pursue the demolition of the identified illegal structures in order to send a clear message to those enterprising informal settlers that the city means business in its campaign to rid the city with the proliferation of illegal structures,” Domogan stressed.
It can be recalled that the city government declared a 3-hectare land area within the City Camp Lagoon for city needs in the 1990s such as the proposed waste water treatment facility and other relative purposes considering that the area is perennially critical due to frequent flooding, especially during the onslaught of heavy rains and strong typhoons and that the area is not considered safe for human habitation or residential purposes.
Domogan also instructed the city anti-squatting committee to further conduct an investigation on the alleged involvement of some barangay officials in the area and some influential officials of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to the mushrooming of structures in the City Camp Lagoon area in order to pinpoint those involved in the controversy to prevent the barangay officials and the agency from being unjustly dragged into the issue.
The CBAO report stated the structures which are not covered by requisite building permits violated the provisions of Section 301 of Presidential Decree (PD) 1096, otherwise known as the National Building Code of the Philippines, thus, the issuance of the pertinent demolition orders in order to remove the structures from the area and prevent obstructions in the future plans of the city to put up its sewage treatment plant and satellite market.
The city anti-squatting committee is expected to discuss on the next actions to be taken in order to facilitate the timely removal of the identified illegal structures to ensure that the area will be used for city needs as earlier envisioned by the local government and to prevent people from being exposed to the threats of floodings that pose a serious threat to life and limb.
Domogan said the city government will not hesitate to implement any action of the city anti-squatting committee on the fate of the structures in the area.
