By Dominic B. dela Cruz
Staff reporter
Batac City—The Sangguniang Panlungsod here has authorized Batac mayor Albert D. Chua to negotiate with landowners for lots intended for use of the proposed Batac sports complex.
Batac officials tabbed a location at Brgy. Nauirangan here for the said edifice.
The delay in the authorization approval stemmed from issues concerning landowners. In an earlier document, the owners numbered 17; the council, however discovered that the proposal affects four additional landowners.
Batac assistant city assessor Felicitas Quidilla shed light on the issue by confirming that there were indeed 21 lot owners affected.
Batac councilor Joel Garcia, who chairs the committee on laws, laws, ethics and privileges, also verified that the names submitted if they still exist and if these lots are all cleared in terms of real property taxes payment.
After threshing out all issues, the council approved the measure. Batac councilor Mary Columbia Cajigal, however voted against it.
Ms. Columbia said she voted against the measure because she found out only 10 out of the 21 lots have titles.
She reiterated that she is not against the measure and the proposal. She said she will vote for it if the city will acquire the 10 titled lots first, with the others to follow. The council turned down her proposal.
Mr. Garcia, who sponsored the measure, clarified that the resolution simply gives the mayor the authorization to negotiate with the landowners.
Mr. Chua, for his part, thanked the city council for approving the measure giving him the first step towards the establishment of the Batac sports complex.
The mayor added that the resolution is just an authorization for him to negotiate with the landowners regarding the proposed sports complex. He stressed the authorization does not include land acquisition.
“Diak met ibaga nga awan karbengan da [SP] ta they also have the right to ask ngem kitaen da kuma met diay urgency na ta gumaw-gawawa tayo iti napintas ken adda kabukbukudan tayo a pagay-ayaman dagiti ubbing ken adda met kuarta a nailatang a mausar,” Mr. Chua noted after a couple of delays for its approval.
“And there will still be a time for them to talk because there will still be a negotiation in the identification of the real owners and calling their attention for a meeting, advantageous if the city government, acquisition/purchasing and others,” he added.
According to the mayor, the city government has a continuing allocation of around PHP20 million purposely for the acquisition of lots of said project this year.
The project will have an Olympic-size swimming pool, track oval, quarters, basketball court, and other athletic or sports facilities.
The mayor also mentioned that the project aims to give chance to the city athletes for better training with better equipment and facilities.
Initially, the project proposal calls for a 5-hectare lot.
