BAGUIO CITY, Philippines — Farmers with tax declarations issued by Tuba town, Benguet province, on Monday asked the city government to resolve its boundary conflicts after they were told to leave their homes.
Residents of Sitio Bilis, Pula and Sala in Barangay Sto. Tomas in Benguet told the city council that they were issued notices of violation for settling on part of a 138-hectare property owned by Baguio.
“Our lands were declared as part of Tuba by our fathers,” said Robinson Sadey, who represented the residents, many of whom are strawberry gardeners.
Sadey said the notices were issued last week, giving the settlers a week to prove they have legitimate rights over their lands.
“After a cadastral survey, it now appears our lands are in Baguio,” Sadey said. “We know about the boundary dispute [between Tuba and Baguio] so we urge you to settle this [because it] affects our homes,” he said.
The dispute arose from the establishment of Baguio by the Americans in 1909.
The Baguio charter delineated the city’s areas that changed its neighbor’s boundaries. Tuba’s municipal hall, for example, is technically part of Baguio territory.
According to Sadey, their area was considered for Baguio’s sanitary landfill in 2008 until it was scrapped in favor of a waste-to-energy project to be installed at the Baguio dairy farm. The proposed energy facility lies across the main access road to Tuba.
Common boundaries
Both Baguio and Tuba have common boundaries at Mt. Sto. Tomas, a massive forest reservation that straddles the two towns.
But the subvillages at Mt. Sto. Tomas that are inhabited by families, who have lived there “since time immemorial,” fall inside Baguio, based on the delineation prescribed by the city charter, according to Councilor Isabelo Cosalan Jr.
Cosalan sponsored an ordinance designating the Sto. Tomas property for the city government’s multiple land use, following a joint survey undertaking with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, which declared the area vacant.