March 29, 2024

In homage to Baguio as a Unesco creative city, this near-sighted Ibaloy writer starts this week’s column with a poem “Agin Ba-Baguio, Part I” by Gabriel Baban Keith: “There’s something sad and tragic/ living in Baguio pretending/ to be Baguio./ In a place pretending to be/ what it no longer is./ It’s time to put away the solibaos/ and gangsas:/ Baguio is an Ibaloy paradise lost./
Will this be the fate of La Trinidad and/ the entire Benguet?/ Will it also become a land bought,/ squatted on and ruled/ by outsiders?/ Or is it already too late?/ Is Benguet already agin Be-Benguet?/ Like Baguio is agin Ba-Baguio?/ Welcome to Baguio city and Benguet province!/ Welcome to agin Ba-Baguio and agin Be-Benguet!/ How very tragic./ How very sad.” Advance happy Ibaloy Day! Ooway! Adivay! Whooo! Whooo!
Anyway, believing that it is better to be safe than sorry, the city’s Registry of Deeds (ROD) is urging the public to always check with their office first before entering into any land deals to ensure that these are legal and above board.
This was stressed by ROD chief John Felix during flag-raising rites at city hall before local officials, employees and guests headed by Mayor Benjamin Magalong and Vice Mayor Faustino Olowan.
He also revealed that the ROD has collected a total of P78,867,691.97 from various transactions and P52,576,702.62 transfer tax in 2019.
Felix said the transactions included receiving and recording of certified true copy, certification, verification; chattel mortgage; personal property; registered land; and unregistered land.
When it comes to titles, the RDO received 8,085 transfer certificate of title (TCT) from Original Certificate of Title (OCT) and Subdivision Plans and issued 4,223; received 263,795 Condominium Certificate of Title (CCT) from TCT and Condominiums and issued 27,950; it received 104 in additional page and issued 107 last year.
In issued OCT/ TCT in 2019, the ROD received no decrees and issued 166 while it received 1,486 patents and issued 719.


FYI: Magalong reiterated his earlier announcement that the unsightly and possibly even dangerous “spaghetti wires” all over the Summer Capital will be removed by July.
“Mark my words,” he assured the city’s punong barangays during their monthly general assembly recently at City Hall headed by Association of Barangay Councils president and Councilor Michael Lawana.
Earlier, he said the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Corporation, Globe, and other telecom companies, in collaboration with the Benguet Electric Cooperative, committed to the city government that they will remove “spaghetti wires” in 180 days.
He pointed out that the move is a significant improvement from a previous plan to address the problem in one year and eight months.
Magalong said the execution started in Dec. 9, 2019 and will be completed in July of this year.
The removal of spaghetti wires is in line with the Mayor’s strict implementation of the city government’s “one-pole” policy. Cheers!


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May our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ continue to bless and keep us all safe.