LAND DISPUTE. Nicanor Ancheta, municipal administrator of Bagac, Bataan says on Friday (Feb. 28, 2020) that the municipal government wants to settle its decades-old land dispute with the municipality of Mariveles. He said the contested area of about 400 hectares lies between barangays Biaan in Mariveles and Quinawan in Bagac where a big corporation is planning to put up an economic zone as part of the expansion program of the Freeport Area of Bataan. (Photo by Ernie Esconde)
BALANGA CITY, Bataan -- The Sangguniang Panlalawigan (Provincial Board) here was preparing to invite municipal officials of Bagac and Mariveles towns to settle a boundary dispute that has been running for decades, a board member said Friday.
“It is about time the controversy be fixed with the planned development of the area in question,” Manuel Beltran, chair of the board’s committee on land use, said in an interview.
Beltran said Vice Governor Cris Garcia, the board’s presiding officer, has sought the opinion of the provincial legal counsel on the issue and requested the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority (NAMRIA) for an official copy of the map of the province and other documents.
“As soon as we have the necessary documents, we will call both parties for the settlement of the dispute, as much as possible, amicably,” he said.
The Sangguniang Bayan (Municipal Council) of Bagac, on the other hand, has authorized Mayor Rommel del Rosario to act on behalf of the municipality in resolving the boundary dispute with Mariveles.
Municipal administrator Nicanor Ancheta said Bagac wants the settlement of the dispute to be prioritized and what rightly belongs to the municipality to be claimed.
Ancheta said the contested area of about 400 hectares lies between barangays Biaan in Mariveles and Quinawan in Bagac where a big corporation is planning to put up an economic zone as part of the expansion program of the Freeport Area of Bataan.
He said it would be better for both municipalities to know where the land in question rightly belongs before investors start developing the area.
“Mayor del Rosario and the Bagac Sangguniang Bayan are asking the Sangguniang Panlalawigan for the early resolution of the dispute,” Ancheta said.
He said their claim was bolstered by the recent discovery of an old landmark (mujon) in the contested land.
Ancheta said the private owner of the land has been paying real property tax to the municipal government of Mariveles.
“Is it not proper that payment of taxes be held in trust and the full amount be given to the rightful owner (municipality) after the question on the political boundary is settled?” he said. (PNA)
