Private engineer eyed to resolve border rows in Mandaue City

CEBU, Philippines – North Reclamation Area covers five barangays in Mandaue City, yet legal documents reportedly name Barangay Subangdaku as its sole titleholder.

The situation would often leave these five barangays snagged in a quandary, especially during elections, as officials and villagers do not know where their territory starts or ends.

To help resolve decades-long boundary disputes such as the case of NRA, a Mandaue City consultant has recommended hiring the services of a private geodetic engineer.

Lawyer Amadeo Seno Jr., the city's consultant on government contracts, told the City Council last week that only a geodetic engineer can locate these barangay boundaries.

The boundaries were once surveyed and plotted during the incumbency of then mayor Thadeo Ouano.

Seno, who was invited before the council to discuss his accomplishments as consultant, said barangay boundary monuments (BBM) were put up as demarcation structures but through the years, these were removed.

He said the survey conducted under the Ouano administration was able to come up with coordinates defining local boundaries.

Another boundary marking initiative was also made before that. He then said it is now up to the city which one to follow.

Seno, a former vice mayor, said boundary disputes have been a problem since his time as a city official and have not been resolved ever since.

Hence, he said, when Mayor Jonas Cortes appointed him as consultant, he accepted it as a way to continue his “unfinished business.”

The incumbent city engineer, Roy Mangubat, is himself actually a geodetic engineer; however, with his hands already full with various tasks, he told the council that he feels it best for the city to hire a private firm for the job.

Seno said the concern on where the people should vote or get their barangay privileges is not a problem as they can always choose for themselves.

However, the city should resolve the boundary disputes by delineating one barangay from another so that all 27 will know their respective territories, he added. (FREEMAN)