Court asked to nullify Ibaloy land title in watershed

BAGUIO CITY, Benguet, Philippines — The Baguio government and Mayor Benjamin Magalong have asked a regional trial court to nullify a titled property inside one of the city’s primary watersheds.

Officially registered in 1966, the land title covering 7.8 hectares at the Busol watershed was granted to heirs of Ibaloy families and is now subdivided into 22 smaller titles, to the detriment of one of the city’s main water sources, according to motions for intervention filed separately last week.

Busol is a primary water source tapped by the Baguio Water District (BWD), which has been rationing water since the 1990s when population growth began to exceed supply.

As of 2018, BWD had been generating 42,587 cubic meters of drinking water each day that fall short of the 46,062-cubic meter daily requirement.—Vincent Cabreza