City urges public consultations on Autonomy Bill, charter amendments

Mayor Benjamin Magalong ratified city council resolution no. 204, series of 2023, urging Baguio Congressman Marquez Go to conduct public consultations on the latest version of the Autonomy Bill pending in Congress and the proposed amendments to the Revised Charter of the City of Baguio, if any.

The approved measured stated that Go is actively doing important legislations such as the Autonomy Bill and Constitutional Amendments, the Summer Capital’s Revised Charter under Republic Act No. 11689 and the Metropolitan Baguio, La Trinidad, Itogon, Sablan, Tuba and Tublay Development Authority (MBLISTTDA).

“These may soon become laws. It is therefore just and proper that the citizenry should be well informed and be part in crafting these legislations, otherwise, for lack of consultation and information, they might reject the law one way or another,” it stressed.

The resolution pointed out that considering that these legislative measures will have significant implications on the lives and property rights of citizens and the City of Baguio, “a public consultation should be an important aspect of democratic governance allowing citizens to voice their opinions and concerns about matters that will affect them; consultations should be made part of national and local legislation.”

It disclosed that in the consultation held on February 28, 2023 at the Baguio Cultural and Convention Center, the participants made an observation that the city’s revised charter could have included the amalgamation of barangays to comply with the standard requirement for a barangay set by the Local Government Code. – Gaby B. Keith