Baguio lands to be titled after city charter revision

BAGIO CITY -- Local officials lauded the Senate for approving revisions in the century-old Charter of Baguio City amidst their hectic schedule in deliberations of the P2 trillion national budget, saying metes and bounds of the city will now be permanently established while long-time occupants of lands will be able to have their properties titled in their names.

Rep. Bernardo M. Vergara, who followed up the matter with the Senate committee on local government chaired by Sen. Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., said he will try to bargain for immediate convening of the required bicameral conference committee in order to iron out the differences between the approved House and Senate versions of the Charter so that it will be again submitted to both chambers for ratification.

“The signing into law of the new Charter of Baguio City will be the best gift that President Benigno Simeon C. Aquino III can give to our constituents because one of its salient points is the award of lands to qualified occupants,” Vergara said.

Under the approved Charter, the total land area of Baguio City is 57.4 square kilometers and that the land swapping between the city and the nearby Tuba municipality located south of Baguio has been sealed in order to specifically pinpoint the metes and bounds of the city.

Originally, the Spanish colonizers described the mountains of Northern Luzon, including Baguio City, as fertile valleys blushed with vegetation and rich with minerals such as gold and copper. Later, they found out that the mountain people were difficult to influence and subdue because they resisted the division of their lands.

   

During the American regime, Baguio’s name was Kafagway which was a pasture land of the Benguet people during the dry season.

The Americans found Baguio an ideal site for a future city and a summer retreat from the sweltering heat of the lowlands. The hills were grassy and studded with pine trees and above all it had a cool and pleasant climate.

The Americans also found a good source of water to supply the needs of a city. Gov. William Howard Taft and other officials did not hesitate to proposed that this be the location for the summer capital and health resort of the Philippines.

In November 1900, the Americans established the first civil government in Benguet. Kafagway was designated as the capital and was later renamed to Baguio. This new name was apparently derived from the native Ibaloi word"bigyiw," which is a moss-like green plant that grew around the area where Burnham Park is now located.

  

On Sept. 1, 1909, the Philippine Commission held its session in Baguio City where it officially declared Baguio a city.

Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan expressed his gratitude to the senators for giving part of their time in approving the revisions of the Charter, citing that the new document will also empower the city government to generate sufficient resources that will be used to implement the identified priority development projects and enhance the delivery of basic services.

“I will personally spend time to discuss with our lawmakers some issues concerning the approved Charter anytime next week,” Domogan said, citing that the public bidding of already occupied lands must already be waived and that the direct award to the actual occupants must be done so as not to prejudice those who have improved their properties provided that they will pay the land to the government.