BAGUIO CITY, Sept. 16 (PNA) -– The Baguio City council approved Resolution 219 s 2014 authored by councilor Leandro Yangot Jr. urging the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) to void a resolution that set aside a 2009 measure revoking the Baguio Ancestral Land Clearing Committee (BALCC).
The NCIP should reconstitute the BALCC as a safeguard against bogus claims, the resolution said.
Yangot, in an interview today, September 16, said the council strongly urged the NCIP en banc to reconsider NCIP Resolution 06-025-2013 entitled “A Resolution Revoking En Banc Resolution 090 s 2009,”.
BALCC was created to ensure that the manner by which lands within the jurisdiction of the Baguio City are identified as ancestral be done with much diligence and to forestall future problems that may arise as a result of such declaration.
The creation of the BALCC allowed the City of Baguio to actively participate in recommending to the NCIP lands in the city which are qualified or open for clearing taking cognizance of many important factors which include among others the presence of prior private claims, reserved lands and facilities for public use.
Yangot said the NCIP cited reasons that the BALCC failed to come up with internal rules subject to approval by the commission, that the internal rules could not be made as it will violate the provisions of the Indigenous Peoples Right Act and existing guidelines on delineation which exclusively places the authority to issue Certificate of Ancestral Land Title (CALT) with the NCIP; and that the city nevertheless and other stakeholders are protected as the specified claims will be processed where the city is duly represented.
It is worthy to emphasize that the spirit of City Resolution creating the BALCC does not in any way amend the provisions of the IPRA law, he said. (PNA)