Loakan lot fencing by PMA stopped in city council deal

Folks: We will be fenced out from our homes 

By Jordan G. Habbiling

BAGUIO CITY -- The Philippine Military Academy (PMA) decided to maintain status quo and stop fencing to enclose the military camp in Purok Ongasan, Loakan Proper Barangay due to ongoing land dispute.
    In a meeting conducted by the Baguio City Council’s committee on urban planning, lands and housing on August 17, the PMA and the Bontoc Organization of Purok Ongasan Loakan Inc. (BOPOLI) agreed to maintain status quo in the area. 
    Following this this development, the city council passed a resolution last Oct. 31 approving the committee’s recommendation that status quo be maintained pending resolution of the land dispute.
    BOPOLI members, in 2021, sought help of the city government regarding the plan of the PMA to construct a perimeter fence which they claimed would enclose the lot they were occupying and where their houses were built. 
    The construction of said perimeter fence was funded by the Dept. of Public Works and Highways and the Dept. of National Defense.
    A fencing permit has earlier been issued by the chief engineer of the Armed Forces of the Philippines who serves as building official authorized by the Dept. of Public Works and Highways to issue fencing and building permits for structures within military reservations in the country.
    The lot occupied by BOPOLI members is part of the area covered by Proclamation No. 2405, s. 1985 which declared portions of land public domain here in Fort Gregorio Del Pilar as a military reservation subject to private rights, if any there be. 
    The entire reservation covers an approximate area of 3,731,399 square meters whereas the residential lot covers 29,631 square meters. 
    BOPOLI members claimed the said area had been occupied by their forefathers since World War II prior to establishment of PMA. 
    Several years back, members and officers of the Bontoc Organization of Purok Ongasan Loakan Inc. requested a segregation survey of said land. 
    In 2017, the pre-proclamation committee chaired by the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council favorably recommended segregation of the lot and issuance of a presidential proclamation covering said lot for housing purposes. 
    The Dept. of Environment and Natural Resources Cordillera Administrative Region granted a survey authority for a segregation survey over the area.
    A segregation plan for the said area was prepared and issued by the Land Management Services of the DENR-CAR. 
    In 2020, the city council passed a resolution approving the said segregation survey.
    BOPOLI members said the lots they were occupying needed to be segregated from coverage of Proclamation No. 2405 so they can proceed with processing of their titles.
    However, for the said lot to be segregated, a certificate of no objection has to be issued by the DND.
    Unfortunately for the residents, the DND expressed objection and rejected all requests for segregation by claimants within the military reservation.