Barangays seek settlement of boundary disputes

CEBU, Philippines - The Mandaue City Council is studying the delineation of the boundaries between barangays as conflicts have heightened with the opening of new businesses.

City Councilor Ernie Manatad, who sits as ex-officio in the City Council representing the barangays, said the city government should resolved boundary disputes in determining land areas and territorial boundaries.

Among the 27 barangays with boundary disputes are Canduman and Pagsabungan, Canduman and Tabuk, Subangdaku and Tipolo, and Centro and Ibabao.

The issue on barangay disputes was tackled during the confirmation of Amadeo Seno as Mayor's Consultant on Barangay Settlement and Government Contracts last Wednesday afternoon.

Manatad, who is a barangay captain of Subangdaku, said there are conflicts especially on big establishments when they get their barangay clearance and permits.

He cited the case of Chong Hua Hospital wherein the jurisdiction belongs to Subangdaku but the Mandaue City Treasurer's Office credited the real property taxes to Barangay Tipolo.

Manatad also pointed out that some establishments situated at the North Reclamation Area will no longer get permits and clearances from Subangdaku.

A barangay is the smallest political unit in the Philippines with the authority to issue certain permits and collect corresponding fees.

"If they will get clearances and permits, it will add to our revenues and income," Manatad said.

Seno, who is also a lawyer and a former vice mayor, suggested to the council to create an adhoc committee that will be tasked to resolve conflicts involving several disputes in the barangays.

According to Seno, they have already plotted the technical description of barangay boundaries but it was only done on paper.

"We need to relocate the exact delineation of each barangay and its technical description," he said as he sought the approval of the city council to hire a private geodetic engineer to look at the boundary delineation of the 27 barangays.

"I know we will be encountering some problems. It will take one term for us to finish all of this," Seno said.

At the moment, some barangays rely on tax maps for an arbitrary proof of their boundaries. The tax maps would not provide definitive proof of the locations of several properties, as the documents would only show proof of taxation instead of political boundary. (FREEMAN)