BAGUIO CITY – Rep. Mark Go is disappointed on the decision of President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. to veto House Bill (HB) 7406 that seeks to amend pertinent provisions of Republic Act (RA) 11689 or the revised Baguio City charter, saying that his office will seek further clarification from the Office of the President to guide the filing of another amendatory measure in the next Congress.
The President’s veto message centered on the deletion of Section 55 of RA 11689 relative to the land area of the Camp John Hay (CJH) reservation but he decided to veto the whole measure to avoid legal inconsistencies.
HB 7406 authored by Congressman Go seeks to amend the revised city charter by removing irrelevant provisions such as the submission of ordinances and resolutions passed by the city council to the Benguet provincial board for confirmation, clarifying the membership of the city lands committee and the removal of Section 55 that declared that the CJH land area is not part of the city’s townsite reservation.
However, President Marcos argued that deleting the aforesaid provision might run counter to the provisions of RA 7227 or the law that created the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) among others.
Section 55 of RA 11689 provided that the Camp John Hay Reservation covering a total land area of six million two hundred fifty-four thousand one hundred five square meters (6,254,105 sq.m.) subject to final survey, which was transferred to the BCDA by virtue of Republic Act No. 7227, as amended, otherwise known as the “Bases Conversion and Development Act of 1992,” as amended, is not part of the Baguio Townsite Reservation.
However, Congressman Go assured that the city council is not obligated to transmit to the Benguet provincial board the approved resolutions and ordinances considering that the controversial provision requiring the local legislative body to do so was inadvertently included in the provisions of RA 11689 by the House committee secretariat.
On the vetoed deletion of Section 55, the lawmaker explained that the said provision was never discussed in the House and was not included in the version of the bill when transmitted to the Senate but the same was included in the provisions of the bill when it was recommended by the local government, thus, the same was at the instance of the Senate.
For his part, former Rep. and Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan that the latest decision of the President on the proposed amendments to the revised city charter should serve as a wake up call for bonafide residents of the city to ensure that whoever will be voted as the next congressman should already have the necessary experience in law making to avoid a repeat of the said scenario.
While he welcomed the intention of Congressman Go to make the necessary amendments to the errant provisions that were included in the revised city charter, Domogan pointed out that the amendments that should have been introduced should have been holistic to address all the issues and concerns that were raised against the revised city charter, including the most feasible way in the disposal of alienable and disposable lands and the segregation of portions of various reservations to serve their actual use at the present. Contributed article
