BAGUIO CITY – The city council invited the public to join in a public consultation held on February 28, 2023, at the Baguio Convention Center. The public consultation was aimed to gather opinions, suggestions, and recommendations from the public in line with revising Republic Act 11689, or the “Revised Charter of the City of Baguio” along with House Bill #3267, or “An Act Establishing The Cordillera Autonomous Region”.
During the public consultation, Atty. Jericho Gay-ya briefly discussed the contents of the revised city charter of Baguio, which has 14 articles and 63 sections. The majority of which were all about the elected and appointed officials as well as their duties and responsibilities. Article 1 is the general provision that contains statements regarding the rights and obligations of the City of Baguio, the declaration of objectives and core values, and the territorial boundaries of the city. Articles 2 through 7 pertain to the elected and appointed officials. There are sections that introduce various department heads and their duties and responsibilities. Penal violations are also stated depending on the damage they caused the government. Article 9 is all about the board and councils, which were patterned after the existing law. Article 10, Article 11, and Article 12 are all about provisions on land. Article 10 in particular stated Baguio as a town site reservation and watershed with protection. Article 13 contains transitory provisions, and Article 14 contains final provisions.
The public consultation was attended by various members of the community, including NGOs, professionals, youth, and brgy. Officials, IPs, and senior citizens raised their concerns on health issues, education issues, environmental protection, and the land rights of the Indigenous People. “We are very delighted that the city council of Baguio was able to invite our students, especially since they will really see the application of the things that they are learning from school.” Ms. Beverly Laltoog, Program Chair of the University of Baguio Bachelor of Arts in Political Science explained. “The discussion is very informative because several issues were raised, and I’m pretty sure the students were able to see really what the issues that the city council of Baguio is addressing, and it also explains the reason why we need to come up with why we need to revise the city charter.” Ms. Laltoog added.
The audience members who joined the discussion are hoping that their opinions will be taken into consideration when making amendments to R.A. 11689 and HB 3267. “We hope that the city council will take note of those concerns coming from the public… I hope those concerns will be seen in the upcoming public consultation or revisions of the revised city charter of Baguio.” Ms. Latloog on her expectations for the next steps of the city council after the public consultation.
Meanwhile, Councilor Jose Molintas stated, “Napakaganda ng mga input nila na apparently yung observation nila, bakit ngayon ay may consultation na hindi nangyari before na nagawa yung batas. At tiyaka in general gusto din nila na dapat may say sila”. This relates to the suggestions and opinions expressed by the various sectors in public consultation. Hon. Molintas shared that there are technical workshops intended for different sectors to also help in determining their opinions regarding R.A. 11689. He also reiterated the main goal of the session, which is to collect recommendations regarding the revised charter of the city of Baguio.
In addition, Hon. Peter Fianza emphasizes that some of the solutions offered by the city council were given justice. In particular, these are two resolutions, where the first one asks the president to vote for the charter, and the second resolution creates and designates a working unit to go over the charter. Also, he insisted that the public be informed of the process of making a law, which also concerned them in general. By Nicko Gatchalian
