BAGUIO CITY – Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan lashed out at the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) for its failure to act on the petition of the city government questioning its authority to issue a cease and desist order (CDO) stopping the city hall ground improvement and fencing projects without the benefit of conducting the required ocular inspection to ascertain where or not the projects are in violation of the provisions of the new heritage act.
The local chief executive asserted the NCCA acquired jurisdiction over the projects when in fact, the agency has no jurisdiction over the same considering that heritage sites are under the authority of the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP).
“We cannot understand why the NCCA refuses to resolve the issues raised by the city government in the petition filed by the city legal office when in fact, the project is now underway. WE are saddened by the fact that the CDO was not even officially docketed by the agency and what was entered into the NCCA records was the city’s own petition,” Domogan stressed.
He cited that it is obvious that NCCA is the investigator, the prosecutor and the judges all at the same time which casts doubts on the credibility of the agency’s decision on the matter as it already pre-judged the project without the investigating team having seen the projects that are being done in city hall if its obstructs the heritage building or not.
Further, Domogan also criticized the NCCA for its failure to act on a letter sent by the NHCP stating among others that the latter interposes no objection to the P11.7 million city hall ground improvement and fencing projects considering that it will not obstruct the view of the city hall which is already a marked structure.
According to him the city hall ground improvement and fencing projects are outside the 5-meter buffer zone from the marked structure pursuant to the provisions of the new heritage law but he does not understand why NCCCA continues to acquire jurisdiction to an issue that is supposed to be lodged with the NHCP.
He expressed disappointment over the fact that during the latest NCCA hearing called for the purpose, the hearing officer of the previous case of Agoo, La Union became the prosecutor of the case of the city while the prosecutor of Agoo, La Union was assigned as the hearing officer of the case of the city, thus, it clearly reflects that the NCCA does not have the legal capacity to acquire jurisdiction on the matter.
Domogan asserted NCCA has no legal basis to issue the CDO because it was not able to prove that there was a prema faci evidence that would show that the stage to be constructed will obstruct the view of the city hall building that has been previously marked as a heritage structure by the National Historical Institute (NHI, now known as the NHCP.
Aside from the put up of a stage with a museum underneath it, the city government plans to construct a fence around city hall and establish the needed gates in order to guarantee the safety of the transacting public and to allow the city government to use the available spaces as pay parking during the weekend to provide visitors added parking areas for their motor vehicles.
