Congressman Mark Go hosts first Baguio City Land Summit

September 22, 2019 Community Billboard

Baguio lone district representative Mark Go conducts the first ever Baguio City Land Summit at the Dumo Hall of the BENECO building at South Drive, Baguio City on September 13, 2019, coinciding with the commemoration of “Sipat”.

The event was wholly organized by the Office of the Congressman of Baguio City and assembled stakeholders from different sectors in the city. At least 400 participants from indigenous peoples groups to businessmen and government workers attended the summit.

The entire leadership of Baguio City was also present, including several department heads led by Mayor Benjamin B. Magalong. The said summit was a legislative consultation to gather the latest information about the land situation in the city.

The objective of the consultation was to collate land issues that may be addressed by crafting new legislation or amending existing ones. Resource speakers who shed light on select topics included DENR Regional Director Ralph Pablo who presented the “Overall Land Situation of Baguio City: Issues and Challenges,” where the overarching theme was the rapid development of the city versus the environment.

Michael Umaming of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) made a brief presentation about the ancestral land claims in the city. Councilor Isabelo “Poppo” Cosalan, Jr. talked about the “Baguio Cadastral Survey: What it is, and what it is not.”

Engr. Alfredo Genetiano of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau talked about the mineral reservations in the city with his presentation “Baguio, a mining free city?” Dr. Michael Bengwayan sent his message entitled “We need to live eco spiritually.”

A lively and informative open forum went on in between the presentations. Several legislative measures were suggested, ranging from the conduct of studies to the disestablishment and reclassification of reservations in order to determine the carrying capacity of the city.

Congressman Mark Go vowed to follow-up on the results of the consultation and committed to stage similar consultations which are more specific and targeted.