BAGUIO CITY – Representative-elect Mauricio G. Domogan vowed to aggressively work on the necessary amendments that will be introduced to the revised Baguio City charter to address blatant defects and provide solutions for the pressing local issues and concerns.
Domogan, who was proclaimed by the City Board of Canvassers as the duly elected Representative to the House after the May 12, 2025 mid-term elections, said that the filing of the bill to amend certain provisions of the revised city charter is urgent and will be one of his priorities once he will assume the position to address the current issues besetting the existing revised charter.
He commended incumbent Rep. Mark Go for being able to pursue the enactment into law of Republic Act (RA) 11689 or the Revised City Charter but claimed that there are pressing issues and concerns, especially in the disposition of lands and the city’s metes and bounds, which were not appropriately addressed by the exist law, thus, the need to introduce the necessary amendments to avoid complications in the future.
The former 6-term Mayor and 3-term Rep. pointed out the importance of deleting the present provision requiring the city to submit its approved ordinances and resolutions to the Benguet provincial board for confirmation as the some literally downgraded the city’s status as a chartered city to a component city despite repeated explanations from the author that such inserted provision was inadvertent and considered surplusage.
According to him, there is also a need to change the current mode of disposition of lands in the city from townsite sales to miscellaneous sales to ensure that qualified home lot occupants will be the ones that will be awarded ownership of the lands that they already occupy and avoid being outbidded by rich individuals.
Under the present townsite sales set up, alienable and disposable lands, irregardless if there are existing occupants, are being bidded out that opens the opportunity for rich individuals to outbid the actual occupants that will deprive the latter of owning the properties that they have occupied over the past several decades.
He pointed out that under the miscellaneous sales arrangement, qualified actual homelot occupants will be able to directly purchase the properties that they currently occupy. If there will be conflicts that will transpire over the properties because of a number of claimants, there will be procedures that will be outlined to determine the most qualified applicant where the property will be awarded without undergoing the rigors of opening the same to bidding to avoid rich individuals from taking advantage of the situation.
Domogan emphasized that another important amendment that will be introduced will be the expressed provision on the city’s metes and bounds that will include the long standing agreement that was reached over the boundary dispute between Tuba and Baguio which had already been agreed upon by Benguet provincial officials and Tuba municipal officials. The settlement was for Tuba to have the city property along portions of Marcos highway in exchange for its property in the Sto. Tomas area to avoid further complications and for the city to achieve its prescribed land area of more than 57.4 square kilometers.
He added that the issue on the land area will have to be given attention in the proposed amendment of the city charter. HENT
