President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has vetoed the proposed measure revising the Baguio City Charter, Malacañang announced on Friday, April 11.
Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary and Palace Press Officer Claire Castro confirmed that Marcos thumbed down House Bill 7406.
HB 7406, an amendatory bill tackling certain provisions of the revised Baguio Charter under Republic Act 11689. The bill focuses on certain “mistakes” in the amended charter, which include a typographical error in Section 23 that requires the secretary of the city council to transmit approved ordinances to the provincial government of Benguet for approval, essentially turning Baguio into a component city of the province.
The other focus of the amendments under HB 7406 concerns the lands in the Camp John Hay reservation under the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA).
Under RA 11689, the entirety of the John Hay reservation is excluded from the Baguio townsite reservation in Section 55 and gained an additional 55 hectares worth of land, and the BCDA’s John Hay Management Corporation (JHMC) has been provided a seat in the city’s special committee on lands in Section 52.
HB 7406 amends Section 52 to specify that the JHMC’s authority in the council on lands only exists in matters that concern the John Hay reservation specifically, and amends Section 55 to include compliance with presidential proclamations No.198, Series of 1993 and No. 420, Series of 1994.
Both proclamations allow the local government of Baguio to still execute its laws and governance in the territory.
