Baguio City Council approves award of lots in Sanitary Camp

BAGUIO CITY -- The city council here approved a resolution for the formal award to actual occupants a portion of a city-owned lot in Purok 3, North Sanitary Camp, including Sitio Guinaoang and the portion adjacent to the Baguio Sewerage Treatment Plant.

The local government is the declared owner of a parcel of land in the said area consisting of more or less 16,047 square meters covering TCT-No. T-54733, 54734, T-54740 (portions), T-54743, T-54738, T-547-39, T-36876 (portions), and T-368-77 (portions) at Purok 3, North Sanitary Camp.

Resolution No. 197, series of 1090 approved the petition of the residents of North Sanitary Camp for the awarding of lots they had been occupying for many years.

Councilor Edgar M. Avila, chairman of the City Council committee on urban planning, lands and housing, said the city’s appraisal committee appraised said lots in the amount of P2,500 per square meter as the base price.

The same was accepted by occupants for the realization of the award of the available lots to the qualified homelot applicants in the said areas.

On June 11, 1986, a memorandum of agreement was entered into by lot owners in the person of Balbalio Acay, Polito Licanio and Clemencia Damogo whose portion of their lands were utilized in the construction of the road towards the Baguio Sewerage Treatment Plant and the same was mutually agreed to be compensated in the form of an exchange of an equivalent area of lots from the local government.

Avila said to effect the swapping of lots, the land owners of their heirs, assigns, or their successors-in-interest are included as privy of the resident claimants of purok 3, North Sanitary Camp, but are excluded from paying the cost of the lots they occupied unless they had occupied more than the swapped area.

On Sept. 5, 2018, Avila’s committee held a public hearing at North Sanitary Camp with punong barangay Virgilio Orca, Jr. and his kagawads as well as the beneficiaries and after almost 20 years of waiting, families will finally benefit from the aforesaid action of the local legislative body.

The lots will be awarded once beneficiaries will be able to fulfil payment of their occupied lots based on the agreed purchase price as decided by the City Appraisal Committee.

The approved resolution will be transmitted to Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan for his signature and once the same will be signed, the appropriate procedures to perfect the award will be undertaken with the assistance of the concerned offices of the local government which have been in charge for the in the award of lots to qualified homelot owners who had been in possession of the properties for a number of decades.

The local government intends to process and facilitate the award of occupied properties to qualified homelot applicants once they agree to the declared purchase price of the lands as per the city appraisal committee. -- Dexter A. See