BAGUIO CITY – The State-owned Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) approved the request from the city government for the use of its property along the DPS Compound barangay as a temporary parking space for motor vehicles during the holidays from December 20, 2017 to January 6, 2018.
GSIS Acting Property Administration Department Officer Florante O. Lumibao outlined 7 conditions that the local government and the local police force must comply with for the use of the GSIS property as a temporary parking space for motor vehicles to ensure the sustained preservation and protection of the vacant lot.
He pointed out that the GSIS property will be made available only for temporary parking space for motor vehicles on the specified dates and that the use of the property for parking purposes will be for free of charge and without any consideration.
Lumibao underscored that GSIS shall not be liable for any complaints, damages and suits that may be filed as a result of the grant to use the property as temporary parking space and upon expiration of the agreed period, the Baguio City Police Office (BCPO) and the local government shall cause the removal of all parked vehicles found in the property and will turnover possession of the same without formal demand from the State insurance corporation.
According to him, damage to the newly erected fence shall be restored to its original state chargeable against the local government and that any extension of time for its continued use must be with prior consent.
The GSIS asserted that the State insurance firm reserves the right to demand the termination of authority and return of the property upon violation of the imposed conditions and in the event of an exigency to protect its interest and the general public.
Earlier, Rep. Mark Go, Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan and Senior Superintendent Ramil L. Saculles of the Baguio City Police Office (BCPO) requested the GSIS management to allow the local government to use its vacant lot located along DPS barangay as a temporary parking space for the holidays with the expected influx of motor vehicles.
For the past several years, the GSIS had been approving the request of the local government to use its vacant lot along DPS barangay as a temporary parking space for motor vehicles during the holidays and the conduct of special events in the city.
Mayor Domogan expressed his gratitude to the GSIS management for its sustained support to the local government in finding temporary solutions to the enormous traffic problems of the city during the holidays and special events by allowing this lot to be used as a temporary parking area for motor vehicles free of charge.
The local chief executive claimed that every time the city submits a request to GSIS management for the use of its vacant lot as temporary parking space during the annual conduct of the Panagbenga, the same is always approved free of charge.
Aside from the GSIS property, the local government also coordinated with public and private schools in the city to allow the use of their open spaces for pay parking purposes during the Yuletide break to accomodate substantial number of motor vehicles that will flock to the city ferrying tourists to spend their vacation in the city.
By Dexter A. See
