The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) will soon embark on land survey and mapping project in Central Luzon in order to be at par with global standards and support key development programs in the region. For this purpose, it will initially recover at least 1,000 boundary markers or “mojon” in 13 towns in three provinces. The “mojon” recovery operation will cover the towns of Arayat, Bacolor, Guagua, Mexico, Sta. Ana, and City of San Fernando in Pampanga; Calumpit, Guiguinto, Hagonoy, Meycauayan, Obando, and Pulilan in Bulacan; and Botolan in Zambales.
According to DENR regional technical director (RTD) for lands management Leonardo Aggabao, some “mojon” that date back to the 1930s will now be tied up with the Philippine Reference System of 1992 (PRS92) to provide a standard surveying and mapping reference coordinate system. “Most of these ‘mojons’ have been overtaken by development and can now be found inside titled properties, residential areas and private backyards. Some have been removed to give way to infrastructure development,” Aggabao explained, saying this has contributed to faulty surveying and mapping.
Aggabao said at least 100 land conflict cases have been filed by the DENR in local courts since 2004 alone, mostly stemming from survey overlaps and multiple titling brought about by imprecise surveys and unreliable maps. “Our maps are generally old, some dating to as far back as the 1900s. If you look at them, they are only a little better than the first maps used by sailors and traders as navigation maps in the 1500s century,” Aggabao added.
Using state-of-the art Global Positioning System (GPS) instruments with “mojon” as benchmark, PRS 92 will afford DENR surveyors and geodetic engineers to correct faulty surveys and accurately puts stake on the ground the exact provincial and town boundaries from satellite-fed data. – Benny Enriquez