Baguio City council mulls less land size for titling under TSA, MSA
>> Wednesday, August 11, 2021
By Jordan G. Habbiling
BAGUIO CITY -- The Baguio City Council is mulling the proposal of
Councilor Fred Bagbagen to reduce maximum area of public alienable and
disposable (A&D) lands under Town Sales Application (TSA) and Miscellaneous
Sales Application (MSA).
In his resolution, Bagbagen proposed to recommend to the Dept. of Environment and Natural Resources-CAR that the maximum area of an A&D land under TSA and MSA shall not exceed 300 sqm.
Pursuant to the Administrative Order 504 clearing committee resolution 932 and DMC No. 2007-11, the minimum area that can be applied under TSA should not be less than 200 square meters and not more than 1,000 sqm.
According to Chapter XI of the Public Land Act, a TSA is a type of application covering an A&D land of the public domain within an established townsite disposable for residential or commercial purposes.
Similarly, pursuant to Republic Act 730 as amended by Presidential Decree No. 2004, the maximum area that may be granted to an applicant under MSA is 1,000 sqm.
By virtue of RA 730, the sale without public auction of A&D lands of the public domain for residential purposes under MSA is permitted.
Bagbagen said reducing the maximum area for land acquisition under TSA and MSA is imperative considering rising population of the city. This is also necessary to accommodate qualified Baguio residents who have been in possession of public alienable lands for decades, he said.
In his proposed resolution, the councilor cited Article XII Section 9 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution which stipulates that “the state, for the common good, shall undertake a continuing program of urban land reform and housing which will make available at affordable cost decent housing and basic services to underprivileged and homeless citizens in urban centers."
“The underlying principle is that we want to give other citizens the chance to own a property,” Bagbagen told the council.
He said DENR-CAR regional director Ralph Pablo had proposed to DENR Sec. Roy Cimatu to reduce the maximum area for acquisition of D & A lands from 1,000 sqm to 500 sqm.
The City Planning and Development Office agreed with the proposal, he added.
Several council members, however, questioned the legality of the proposal.
Councilor Isabelo Cosalan Jr. said an amendment of aforementioned laws may be needed.
Cosalan also raised the possible negative effects of the proposal to the urban landscape of the city.
“We should not allow the increase of density of structures in the city. The smaller the lots, the higher the density; hence, the more urbanized our city will become,” Cosalan said.
Bagbagen said acquisition of a big chunk of land may also bring repercussions as the land may be subdivided among family members leading to more urban planning issues.
The council held in abeyance the approval of the proposed resolution and moved to invite the DENR-CAR and CPDO for a forum to further discuss the matter.
During a public consultation held by the Sanggunian’s committee on urban planning, lands and housing last January, engineer Benjamin Ventura, DENR-CAR assistant regional director for technical services, announced that a total of 2,068 hectares is approximated for A&D lands out of the 5,752 hectares as the total land area of the city.
However, based on the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) Geo-Hazard Map presented by Ventura, 87% of the area of Baguio City is marked with high landslide susceptibility.
Some of these areas are highly critical.
In consideration to the geohazard data provided by the MGB, the DENR-CAR came up with a rough estimate of 267 hectares that are within areas with low and moderate landslide susceptibility as the remaining A&D lands for titling.
In his resolution, Bagbagen proposed to recommend to the Dept. of Environment and Natural Resources-CAR that the maximum area of an A&D land under TSA and MSA shall not exceed 300 sqm.
Pursuant to the Administrative Order 504 clearing committee resolution 932 and DMC No. 2007-11, the minimum area that can be applied under TSA should not be less than 200 square meters and not more than 1,000 sqm.
According to Chapter XI of the Public Land Act, a TSA is a type of application covering an A&D land of the public domain within an established townsite disposable for residential or commercial purposes.
Similarly, pursuant to Republic Act 730 as amended by Presidential Decree No. 2004, the maximum area that may be granted to an applicant under MSA is 1,000 sqm.
By virtue of RA 730, the sale without public auction of A&D lands of the public domain for residential purposes under MSA is permitted.
Bagbagen said reducing the maximum area for land acquisition under TSA and MSA is imperative considering rising population of the city. This is also necessary to accommodate qualified Baguio residents who have been in possession of public alienable lands for decades, he said.
In his proposed resolution, the councilor cited Article XII Section 9 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution which stipulates that “the state, for the common good, shall undertake a continuing program of urban land reform and housing which will make available at affordable cost decent housing and basic services to underprivileged and homeless citizens in urban centers."
“The underlying principle is that we want to give other citizens the chance to own a property,” Bagbagen told the council.
He said DENR-CAR regional director Ralph Pablo had proposed to DENR Sec. Roy Cimatu to reduce the maximum area for acquisition of D & A lands from 1,000 sqm to 500 sqm.
The City Planning and Development Office agreed with the proposal, he added.
Several council members, however, questioned the legality of the proposal.
Councilor Isabelo Cosalan Jr. said an amendment of aforementioned laws may be needed.
Cosalan also raised the possible negative effects of the proposal to the urban landscape of the city.
“We should not allow the increase of density of structures in the city. The smaller the lots, the higher the density; hence, the more urbanized our city will become,” Cosalan said.
Bagbagen said acquisition of a big chunk of land may also bring repercussions as the land may be subdivided among family members leading to more urban planning issues.
The council held in abeyance the approval of the proposed resolution and moved to invite the DENR-CAR and CPDO for a forum to further discuss the matter.
During a public consultation held by the Sanggunian’s committee on urban planning, lands and housing last January, engineer Benjamin Ventura, DENR-CAR assistant regional director for technical services, announced that a total of 2,068 hectares is approximated for A&D lands out of the 5,752 hectares as the total land area of the city.
However, based on the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) Geo-Hazard Map presented by Ventura, 87% of the area of Baguio City is marked with high landslide susceptibility.
Some of these areas are highly critical.
In consideration to the geohazard data provided by the MGB, the DENR-CAR came up with a rough estimate of 267 hectares that are within areas with low and moderate landslide susceptibility as the remaining A&D lands for titling.
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