"The City of Muntinlupa wants to set the record straight regarding its correct land area, which appears to be short of 700 hectares based on the records of the Land Management Bureau (LMB) and the Department of Budget and Management (DBM)," Councilor Raul Corro said.
Corro said the discrepancy resulted in the underestimation of the city’s Internal Revenue Allotment. He has sponsored a resolution allocating P2 million of the budget for the survey of the political boundaries of the city.
He noted that the 1997 data of the LMB and the DBM showed that the city only has a total land area of 39.75 square kilometers (4,000 hectares) against the city planning office’s record of 46.7 square kilometers (4,700 hectares).
"There is a huge difference of seven square kilometers, or 700 hectares," Corro pointed out.
The councilor said surveying is the proper way to determine, describe, portray and measure the boundaries of a city’s land area.
"The survey will establish the boundary lines on the ground, or obtain data and construct a map showing a boundary line. However, the city’s executive department should first conduct a bidding of interested surveyors which should be done in coordination with the LMB," he added.
Corro said the LMB data was based on the report of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-National Capital Region’s cadastral mapping of the city.
"The 1997 survey has become the basis in the computation of our IRA. It is essential to correct the land area of a city because it is the basis for the IRA. The bigger our land area and population, the larger the city’s IRA," he said.
Corro added it is important that the survey of the city’s land area be done properly because the correct measurement will also increase Muntinlupa’s annual income.
Muntinlupa’s current IRA reportedly amounts to more than P300 million. – Rhodina Villanueva