The provincial board of Benguet will soon decide on the boundary row between Bokod and Itogon covering 3,040.37 hectares.
Vice Gov. Johnny Waguis said officials of both towns have 30 days to submit their position papers. Thereafter, the provincial board will discuss on when to render a decision.
On July 1, officials of Bokod and Itogon met with the provincial board to discuss the issue on the remaining disputed area between the two municipalities.
Itogon and Bokod are tied in boundary dispute cases covering 12,495.82 hectares and 3,040.82 hectares found in separate geographical locations.
In earlier consultations and meetings involving the towns with the provincial board, a settlement was reached and contained in the order of partial resolution by the board issued on March 8, 2019.
The partial resolution stated that the 12,495.82 hectares now belongs to Bokod and the 3,040.82 hectares will be the subject of dispute between the two towns.
With this, the municipal council of Bokod has requested the Department of Budget and Management, through Resolution 088-2020 on June 16, 2020, to recompute its internal revenue allotment that was due the municipality for 2021.
The provincial board through Resolution 2020-600 endorsed to the DBM the Bokod resolution on July 13 last year.
But the municipal council of Itogon expressed opposition to both resolutions, through Resolution 201-2021 passed on June 16 this year, which was forwarded to the DBM, Land Management Bureau-DENR, the provincial board, and the local government of Bokod.
The Itogon town council led by Vice Mayor Adriano R. Carantes Jr. said it did not confirm the partial resolution and thus in the absence of the confirmation by the LGU, the partial resolution should not have taken effect.
“The municipality of Itogon strongly believes and submits that the partial resolution of Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Benguet is part of the negotiation stage being conducted by the provincial board, which means that a contract to that effect should have been signed and confirmed by the legislative bodies of the LGUs concerned,” the resolution stated. – Ofelia C. Empian
April 25, 2024
