Baguio: Mayor Benjamin Magalong on Friday urged the technical working group (TWG) of the city government and the municipality of Tuba, Benguet, to fast-track the remaining steps toward resolving their 99-year-old land dispute. 'Mag-adopt na ng resolution ang city at municipal council para maka-usad na tayo (The city and municipal councils should now adopt a resolution confirming the land swap deal based on the survey results so we can move forward),' Magalong said.
According to Philippines News Agency, the Tuba Municipal Council must adopt a resolution confirming the agreement for submission to the Benguet Provincial Board for approval, while Baguio will seek approval from its City Council. A plebiscite covering the affected barangays is also required. Magalong directed concerned city offices to coordinate with the Commission on Elections to plan the plebiscite, including its schedule and budget.
The TWG has completed a political boundary survey that established the metes and bounds of the jurisdictions and identified the areas and properties covered by the proposed land swap. The dispute dates to a 1927 discovery that Baguio's political boundary had been erroneously identified when the city was surveyed in 1909. Negotiations resumed in 2025 through the TWG, resulting in an agreement for a land swap subject to conditions that both sides respect natural boundaries and titled properties affected by the survey.
Under the agreement, Baguio would cede parcels occupied by Tuba's elementary and high schools and its municipal building. Tuba, in turn, would cede to Baguio areas occupied by the Sto. Tomas High School and some public utility facilities. Magalong said the agreement was reached after a series of discussions, technical reviews, and negotiations between the two local governments through the TWG.
Previous efforts to settle the dispute in 2010 and 2020 stalled over various concerns, including disagreements on land valuation. The two sides had also pursued a 'one-to-one land swap' proposed in a revision of Baguio's charter in 2005. The proposal was vetoed in 2012 by then-president Benigno Aquino III. 'After nearly a year of renewed negotiations, both parties have now arrived at a definite agreement,' Magalong said.
Baguio Rep. Mauricio Domogan said earlier that he hopes the land swap would be completed soon so it can be incorporated into the revised city charter he has filed in Congress. 'We hope it is done soon so that it can be part of the revised city charter that we have proposed in Congress,' Domogan said during a third-quarter congressional briefing.
Domogan said Bill 7406, filed at the House of Representatives in 2025, seeks to correct provisions in Republic Act 11680, enacted in 2022. Among the proposed changes is the repeal of a provision requiring Baguio to transmit its ordinances, policies, and programs to the Benguet Provincial Board for approval. 'Baguio is a chartered city independent from Benguet province. It is not a component city of Benguet. Since we were chartered in 1909, we have never been under Benguet's jurisdiction,' Domogan said. House Bill 7406 also seeks to repeal a provision excluding the Camp John Hay reservation and to expand the city's area from 570 hectares to 625 hectares.
