Rep. Mark Go underscored that he did not snub or disregard the invitation of the local legislative body to its previous regular session to discuss the issues and concerns on Republic Act (RA) 11689 or the revised Baguio City charter.
He narrated that last June 29, 2023, he sent a letter informing the council that he could not attend the session on July 3, 2023 due to a previously confirmed engagement. He also informed the council that he had already filed an amendatory bill which the House of Representatives approved on third and final reading that addresses the concerns previously raised by the body and that councilors were encouraged to submit any proposed amendment as the same will still be discussed and deliberated in the Senate.
On July 6, 2023, the lawmaker claimed he met with some city officials to further clarify their issues and concerns where it was agreed that the council shall submit its proposed amendments to House Bill (HB) 7406 or the amendatory bill to the revised city charter on or before July 24, 2023.
Further, it was agreed during the aforesaid meeting that they will meet again on August 4, 2023.
However, Go clarified that on the submission of city ordinances to the provincial board of Benguet, HB 1900 which seeks to revise the charter of Baguio which was filed on July 10, 2019 in the 18th Congress does not contain the said provision which states that the Secretary to the City Council shall forward to the Benguet provincial board copies of duly approved ordinances in the manner provided in Sections 56 and 57 of the Local Government Code.
He claimed that Section 14 of the original bill stated only that the Secretary to the Sanggunian shall take charge of the Office of the Sanggunaing Panlungsod and shall perform such duties and functions and exercise such powers as provided for under the Local Government Code of 1991, as amended, and those that are prescribed by law or ordinances.
HB 1900 is the original and mother bill of RA 11689 or the revised Baguio City Charter which was enacted into law on April 11, 2022.
The congressman pointed out that the said not applicable provision was inadvertently inserted by the House committee on local government in the preparation of its substitute bill, HB 8882, as contained in Committee Report 798, which was approved by the House of Representatives and transmitted to the Senate.
Go explained that considering its unnecessary inclusion, the said provision has no legal implication as Section 56 of the Local Government Code applies only to component cities and municipalities which is not applicable to Baguio considering that the city is a highly urbanized city, and is independent from any provincial government, thus, the Secretary to the Sangguniang Panlungsod should not be required to forward copies of the approved ordinances of the city to any provincial board for review of the same.
In a legal opinion issued by the Reference and Research Bureau of the House, it stated that this is a simple case of a provision inadvertently inserted into the House Bill but not part of its legislative intent. Moreover, the opinion said that in this particular instance, the inserted provision of forwarding to the Benguet provincial board copies of duly approved ordinances of the city, a highly urbanized city, is not within the spirit of the law, thus, it can never prevail over the spirit or intention of a statute and is not considered part of the statute.
Go stipulated that Congress did not intend to revert the status of the city from a highly urbanized to a component city by directing the Secretary of the Sanggunian Panglungsod to forward to the Benguet provincial board copies of duly approved ordinances for review. The House bureau concluded that Section 23(c) (4) of RA 11689 would not affect the status of Baguio as a highly urbanized city and it will remain as such and will not revert into a component city.
According to him, to avoid confusion and to rectify the inadvertent insertion of the said provision, he immediately filed HB 4531 substituted by HB 7406 seeking to amend RA 11689 and to delete Section 23, paragraph c, No. 4, which the House of Representatives approved on third and final reading.
On the land area of Camp John hay (CJH), Go revealed that the figure provided for in the revised city charter, 6,254,105 square meters, is the same figure that was recognized and used in the previous proposals approved by the House of Representatives since the 6th Congress. However, unlike the previous provisions in the proposals approved by the past Congresses, the current version of the concerned provision, Section 55, now includes the phrase subject to final survey, which was absent in the earlier versions of the said provisions.
With the inclusion of the aforesaid phrase, the Baguio solon said that any discrepancy between the figure provided in the provision, 6,254,105 square meters, and the actual total land area of the CJH reservation, can easily be resolved in favor of the actual total land area resulting from a subsequent final survey.
He asserted that the revised city charter will not encroach upon the rights of anyone in favor of the CJH reservation as the residents of the 13 barangays covered by Resolution No. 362, series of 1994, together with the rest of Baguio, can rest assured that safeguards are in place to ensure their welfare and interests are protected.
Under the amendatory bill, HB 4531 substituted by HB 7406, further specifies the basis of the said land area in Section 55 to include and as provided by Proclamation No. 198, series of 1993 and Proclamation NO. 420, series of 1994. Proclamation NO. 198, series of 1993 transferred the ownership, administration and control over the John Hay air station, with an area of 570 hectares, more or less, to the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) and also the adjacent areas occupied by the Voice of America (VOA) and the United States Ambassador’s Residence. In 1994, Proclamation 420 also designated the lands occupied by the Voa 31.8375 hectares and the Ambassador’s Residence 27.46 hectares as part of the John hay Special Economic Zone (JHSEZ).
On September 2, 1999, the VOA was formally turned over to the Philippine government by the US government and became part of the JHSEZ pursuant to Proclamations 198 and 420. Similarly, Proclamation 1191, series of 2006 designated the lands occupied by VOA and the Ambassador’s Residence as part of the JHSEZ. With the subsequent issuances and turnover of the said properties, the total land area of CJH is 6,254,105 square meters, which is in consonance with Section 55 of RA 11689.
On the separation of the 13 barangays, Go emphasized that it was discussed and agreed upon during the Senate meetings that a separate bill shall be filed for the separation of the said barangays within the CJH reservation. The segregation of 13 barangays from the reservation need not be contained in the city charter as it is impractical to put to waste all the time and effort spent on the creation of the revised city charter and dismiss the entire proposal, when it would not prejudice the rights of the 13 barangays involved and their separation can easily be made the subject of a subsequent legislative measure.
He said that a bill is currently being finalized for the segregation of the 13 barangays from the territorial coverage of the CJH reservation.
On the city’s territorial boundaries, the congressman revealed that HB 1900, the original bill, clearly spelled out the metes and bounds of the city’s territorial boundaries, but the House committee on local government decided to remove the metes and bounds and instead replace it with the city’s present territorial jurisdiction to preserve its current boundaries without prejudice to the final resolution of any boundary disputes. It was a collegial decision among the members of the committee, and the Senate likewise agreed that the present version of the proposal would sufficiently protect the city’s territorial claim.
On the holding of a plebiscite, Go explained that it is not required according to the prevailing law and that Section 10 of the Local Government Code provides that the approval of the majority of the votes cast in plebiscites is required in cases of creation, division, merger, abolition, or substantial alteration of boundaries of local government units.
The solon argued that the approved revised city charter neither creates, divides, merges or abolishes any local government units, nor does the revised charter substantially alter the boundaries of the city. Section 3 of the revised charter even expressly provided that the city shall comprise the present territorial jurisdiction of the city in tis regard, not holding a plebiscite for the ratification of the city’s revised charter is far from being a whimsical discretion by the legislators but in fact is in perfect consonance with the prevailing law and jurisprudence.