BAGUIO CITY – City officials recently directed the Saint Thomas Homeowners Association and the Saint Thomas Estate Subdivision to hold in abeyance the closure of the road providing ingress and egress to Purok 9, barangay Dontogan; refrain from blocking said road and other connecting pathways and ensure an uninterrupted access for residents to and from their homes.
Under Resolution No. 747, series of 2024, local legislators stated that the Dontogan barangay council adopted Resolution No. 39-24, series of 2024 as agreed in the meeting that requested Saint Thomas Estate Homeowners Association not to close the road-right-of-way of Pitlawan, Purok 9 residents even after the expiration of the temporary agreement on December 31, 2024 and the suspension of their imposed fees.
Earlier, a temporary agreement was made between the residents of Purok 9, Dontogan barangay and the Saint Thomas Estate Subdivision to address the shared use of the road-right-of-way. The said agreement was intended to foster cooperation and ensure mutual access to the road for both parties. However, the said arrangement was supposed to expire on December 31, 2024 at which point the subdivision plans to close the road-right-of-way thereby restricting access for the residents of Purok 9 and other affected individuals in the said barangay.
As a result of the ongoing issue, Purok 9 residents sought recourse through the citizen’s forum during the regular session of the city council. The affected residents submitted a formal request for the intervention of the city council regarding this issue allegedly being blocked by the subdivision.
The council recognized that roads within subdivisions are generally owned and maintained by the subdivision developer or the homeowners’ association and access may be restricted to residents and authorized individuals unless such roads are formally declared public by the local government or a relevant agency.
While subdivisions may have limited authority to regulate access to roads or pathways within their private property, the body pointed out that they are not permitted to arbitrarily close, obstruct or block roads or pathways that serve as public ingress or egress without proper legal justification or approval from the appropriate government authority.
It claimed that roads or pathways declared as public property cannot be closed or blocked as the same are of public use under the control of the government. Even within subdivisions, roads may be deemed public if dedicated to public use through legal processes or turned over to the local government.
Presidential Decree 1216 provided that subdivision developers are required to reserve open spaces for public use, including roads, alleys, and pathways and these may be eventually turned over to the government. Once turned over, these spaces become public properties and under government jurisdiction.
Republic Act (RA) 7160 or the Local Government Code as amended states that local governments have authority over public roads and pathways within their jurisdictions. Closure of public roads requires approval from the local council and public consultations.
Under the rules of the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB, subdivision homeowners’ associations must comply with housing and land use regulatory board regulations ensuring no unreasonable restrictions on access unless they comply with legal procedures. By Dexter A. See
