Delaying cadastral survey: Seven barangays in Dumaguete fail to settle boundary conflicts

CEBU, Philippines - Hardline positions of seven barangays (Looc, Daro, Piapi, Taclobo and Poblacion 5, 7 and 8) of Dumaguete City over boundary conflicts have caused delays in the conduct of a cadastral survey in this part of the country.

Ernesto Bautista, general manager of EGB and Associates, commissioned by the DENR to do the cadastral survey in Negros Oriental, wrote Association of Barangay Council  president Lionel Banogon, about the difficulties encountered by the company in resolving the boundary conflicts.

Bautista, upon the invitation of Banogon, met with the chiefs of the seven barangays to settle the conflict at their level without necessarily going to court.

Community Environment and Natural Resources Office OIC Efren Rumbaoa however said that all cadastral surveys conducted before have no approval yet from the DENR, and this triggered the hardline stand of the affected barangays.

For instance, Looc Barangay Chairman Angeline Ragay pointed to the cadastral survey of Dumaguete in 2004  as her basis in claiming a portion of  the boundary with Daro, incidentally in the lot where Barangay Chair Rogelio Siglos has put up his residence.

Ragay said documents presented by Daro were based on a mere resolution, from previous councils of both barangays a number of  years ago, and not through an ordinance and without a public consultation.

Siglos countered that the 1973 agreement of village chiefs in Daro and Looc was enough to prove their claim of the questioned lot, which Daro has actually been in possession from that time to this day.

Ragay however insisted that, in the boundary where Siglos of Daro is residing, residents go to Barangay Looc to ask for barangay clearance for a fencing permit, among others.

Barangay Chair Nelson Ablir of  Poblacion 5, for his part, wanted the issue settled amicably with Looc. His barangay, where Silliman University is located, will abide by what the documents will declare for as long as these are fair to both sides. 

Daro Councilman Jovencio Tan, who attended the meeting, wanted the cadastral surveys in the past be declared void, citing CENRO's pronouncements that these have no approval yet. He suggested instead to hold in abeyance the determination of boundaries in conflict, pending a thorough research by the City Legal Office, the City Planning Office and other concerned agencies.

For other barangays embroiled in the boundary conflicts, Barangay Chairs Gregorio Suasin of   Taclobo, Reynaldo Caballes of Poblacion 7 and Delia Señagan of Poblacion 8 agreed to hold joint sessions with their respective councils to resolve the impasse among them.

Bautista had suggested to resolve the conflict of political boundaries in a Solomonic way, either divide the conflict area or to declare a status quo. He said a similar situation happened between Mabinay town and Bais City where more or less 3,000 square meters of land was marked as a conflict area for the survey to be completed. In Sibulan and Amlan, the conflict on who owns the waterfalls was resolved with both parties agreeing to divide the area, the other side to Sibulan and the other side to Amlan, he said.

Another session will be called to finally resolve the conflict, the EGB of which is given up to January next year to complete the survey project, otherwise it will incur penalties. (FREEMAN)