LAOAG CITY— Ilocos Norte’s Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) has appealed to the municipalities of Vintar and Bangui in the province’s first district to settle amicably a boundary dispute covering 1,049.96 hectares.
Board member, lawyer Da Vinci Crisostomo, said Friday both municipalities represented by Vintar Mayor Larissa Foronda and Bangui Mayor Fidel Cimatu claim the contested lots located under cadastral survey 734-D.
In a letter forwarded to both municipalities, Department of Environment and Natural Resources Assistant Regional Director Gwendolyn Bambalan clarified that on Dec. 9, 1995, a memorandum of agreement (MOA) was signed by the former local chief executives and Sangguniang Bayan members of each town, resolving the jurisdictional areas of both localities.
Based on the documents, Bambalan said the 1995 MOA favors Bangui town but Vintar officials alleged that some “discrepancies” or misrepresentations had occurred during the signing of the MOA, as shown in an affidavit of then mayor Antonio Foronda.
Since the SP is responsible for the resolution of political boundary conflicts, as stated under Section 118 of Republic Act No. 7160 or the Local Government Code of 1991, Crisostomo, in his capacity as chair of the committee on laws, expressed hope that both parties would just settle their differences peacefully instead of going through the tedious process of court proceedings to resolve the issue.
Following two meetings held at the Provincial Session Hall, Crisostomo said another meeting has been set in early January to decide the best way to settle the dispute.
To date, Vintar town has the largest land area in Ilocos Norte’s first district with a total of 61,434 hectares, while Bangui has 10,247 hectares. (PNA)
