Mayor hits circumvention of free patent law by fixers

By Dexter A. See 

BAGUIO CITY -- Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan assailed land speculators working with government agencies and the local government for allegedly circumventing provisions of the free patent law which  resulted to worsening congestion here now complicating city concerns on solid waste management, environmental protection among others.

Domogan said he never issued an administrative order banning the implementation of the free patent law but is vocal against certain acts of land speculators in circumventing the limit of the free patent law that allowed applicants for free patents and increase of family members acquiring small portions of lands in the city.

The free patent law limits ownership of an individual to only 200 square meters of land but many applicants for townsite sales applications have subdivided their applications to 200 square meters each which is no longer in accordance to the spirit of the law,” Domogan said.

Domogan said even easements of creeks and road-right-of-way in  different parts of the city have been applied for issuance of free patent which  greatly contributed to increase in structures that contribute to congestion of the city where problems on solid waste management, traffic, peace and order and environmental preservation and protection are compromised.

For example, an applicant who applied for the issuance of townsite sales application for a 350-square meter property in a certain barangay withdrew his TSA application and converted it to free patent and subsequently divided his applications into two, one for him having an area of 200 square meters and another for his brother having an area of 150 square meters, which is not actually pursuant to the free patent law.

“If we do not work together to prevent overcrowding in our city because of the increasing density of structures brought about by the surge in free patent applications, which would result to high density in most areas of the city once concerned government agencies will continue to unabatedly issue free patent titles to obviously circumvented applications,” Domogan said.

Baguio City was designed by American Architect Daniel Burnham to be good for only 25,000 inhabitants in the early 1900s but as of this time, the city’s daytime population could go as high as 700,000 because of the numerous students and people transacting business in the city during the day while its night time population is around 321,000 people based on the latest census by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

Domogan said he is not against the implementation of the free patent law because it would allow people belonging to the lower class to own lands in the city but he is opposing the mode of circumventing the true spirit of the law where it clearly provides that the maximum land area to be given to a certain applicant will only be 200 square meters and that those who are applying for lands more than 200 square meters shall use the TSA mode of applying for land awards in the city.

He called on officials of concerned agencies to reconsider their insistence on subdividing land applications which are more than 200 square meters so that the city will not suffer from urban decay which will contribute to serious problems in the future.