Capitol asked to help settle Cordova, Lapu-Lapu border

CEBU, Philippines - Presidential Adviser on Legislative Affairs Secretary Adelino Sitoy is seeking the Capitol’s help to settle the border conflict between Lapu-Lapu City and the Municipality of Cordova.

Sitoy, who is also former mayor of Cordova, has requested the Cebu Provincial Board to invite officials of the Department of the Interior and Local Government Region 7 (DILG), Department of Environment and Natural Resources Region 7 (DENR), Municipality of Cordova, City of Lapu-Lapu and Cebu Provincial Legal Office, pursuant to the DILG Legal Opinion involving the determination of boundary lines between the two local government units.

Sitoy said the municipal government of Cordova, now under the administration of his daughter, Mayor Mary Therese Sitoy-Cho, wants to clean the Gabi River which was claimed by Lapu-Lapu City as theirs.

Invited to appear during this afternoon’s PB session are Sitoy, DILG Executive Assistant IV Bienvenido F. Barroso, DILG-7 Director Rene K. Burdeos, DILG Provincial Director Jerome G. Gonzales, DENR-7 Regional Technical Director Eduardo M. Inting, and Provincial Legal Officer Orvi G. Ortega.

Also invited are Cordova Mayor Mary Therese Sitoy-Cho, Vice Mayor Victor S. Tago III, Councilor Jose A. Wahing, Chairman of the Committee on Land Use; Municipal Engineer Soripo B. Singculan, Municipal Planning and Development Coordinator Leonides A. Ator, Municipal Assessor Nazario P. Sumalinog, Jr.

For Lapu-Lapu City, invited are Acting Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Marcial A. Ycong, Councilor Roque P. Wagwag, Chairman of the Committee on Land Use; City Administrator Florito P. Pozon, and City Attorney Yuri M. Beluan.

Sometime in 2011, the Cordova Municipal Council through a resolution asked then governor, now House Deputy Speaker Gwendolyn Garcia to act on the dispute between Lapu-Lapu City and Cordova over territorial boundaries that mark out the municipal waters.

The municipal government during that time was in the process of delineating its municipal waters and setting the territorial boundaries for purposes of proper coastal zoning and planning.

The municipality has discovered visible monuments on the Lapu-Lapu City side of the banks of Barangays Pilipog and Gabi rivers which signify the city's exclusive territorial rights over the two rivers.

Though there were several meetings and preliminary site inspections conducted, the progress has been reportedly too slow with the process dragging on.

With the impending resolution of the dispute, Sitoy said Cordova wants to clean the river since it is reportedly polluted due to lack of management. —/JBB (FREEMAN)