Squatters enter subdivision in Baguio; owners bar road access

By Dexter A. See 

BAGUIO CITY – Owners of a subdivision here, fed up over squatters who set up illegal buildings over the area, have barred motor vehicles of outsiders saying they have repeatedly asked the city government to demolish illegal structures but these have often been delayed due to flimsy reasons of informal settlers.       

Following this, the city council is scheduling inspection of  the subdivision in Bakakeng Central here to check validity of the complaints of residents living around it they are granted limited access by homeowners of the subdivision.

During the regular session of the local legislative body Monday, concerned residents of Dominican-Mirador the Crystal Dale Homeowners Association  restricted  entry of motor vehicles inside the subdivision that limit their access to their residences located outside the subdivision.

 Affected residents admitted their motor vehicles are only allowed entry to the subdivision during emergency situations while water delivery trucks are allowed to enter and pass through the subdivision to provide them adequate water supply.

Gordon Star, president of the Crystal Dale Homeowners Association, said the decision to limit access of residents living outside the subdivision and passing through the subdivision roads was agreed upon by officers and members to prevent unauthorized entry of construction materials that are used to build the houses of informal settlers that have allegedly been erected in the subdivision.

He added considering subdivision roads are private in nature, the decision to restrict the entry of vehicles in their private properties is left to the discretion of homeowners and limiting the access of people living outside their subdivision was seen as one of the ultimate solutions in curbing the further increase of informal settlers in their private properties.

According to the homeowner, the illegal structures erected by alleged informal settlers are still within the limits of the subdivision and have not yet been demolished because of repeated appeal of the informal settlers to city officials to defer scheduled demolition for still invalid reasons.

The affected residents want their motor vehicles to be allowed entry to the subdivision because there is no other road to where their houses are located.

Members of the councilors agreed to the ocular inspection to study possible recommendations the predicament of the affected residents while protecting the interest of the homeowners over their private properties.

One of the possible solutions being suggested by local legislators is for the affected residents to pay regulatory fees to homeowners for them to use the subdivision roads to go to their houses located outside the subdivision with the commitment that the vehicles will not bring in construction materials.

Initially, the payment of regulatory fees by the affected residents to allow the entry of their motor vehicles in the subdivision was rejected by the homeowners considering non-compliance of the concerned residents to their commitment not to bring in construction materials through their subdivision.