Police told to check CPLA presence in disputed lots: Baguio City mayor orders 'Demolish squatter buildings'

By Aileen P. Refuerzo

BAGUIO CITY – The crackdown against illegal squatting in this tourism resort is on. Mayor Mauricio Domogan on Monday directed the city anti-squatting committee to hasten demolition proceedings in key areas here infested by squatters.

            

              The hot spots include Camp 7 and a private lot in Bakakeng Central where he said intruders have been boldly threatening prospective buyers of the lot.

            

           The mayor earlier tasked the anti-squatting team to check on the said areas and is now waiting for a report from the team.

            

            The mayor also asked the team to work out the demolition orders for some 55 illegal structures at the government property referred to as Benguet-Ifugao-Bontoc-Apayao-Kalinga (BIBAK) lot along Harrison Road which have been recommended for dismantling by the city building and architecture office (CBAO) and the public order and safety division (POSD) and the Regional Development Council (RDC).

              

            He assured that the occupants will be duly informed of the impending demolition and will be given ample time to relocate especially those who have student boarders.

            

           Domogan also asked the team to check for developments on the ejectment case on the Baguio Dairy Farm lots which the court reportedly granted but which cannot be implemented pending the issuance of a writ of execution.

            

             The mayor said he committed to the Department of Agriculture the city’s assistance in the demolition of the structures in the area once the writ has been issued.

             During the same meeting, the mayor also asked the city police to check on reports on the presence of alleged members of the Cordillera People’s Liberation Army (CPLA) in some of the disputed lots in the city.

            

           Some city officials reported seeing the CPLA men setting up camp in some of the vacant lots brandishing high-powered arms. 

            

           They said the development is disturbing and should be checked at once.

          The mayor asked city police director Jesus Cambay Jr. to coordinate with Cordillera PNP regional director IsaganiNerez and with the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) to look into the report.