The majority floor leader of the Muntinlupa City Council said the development of the land of the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) should be made with prior consultation with the city government and affected residents.
Atty. Raul Corro, councilor and majority floor leader, said, “The plan to convert the NBP Reservation in Muntinlupa into the so called ‘Bucor Global City’ must be done with prior consultation with the City Government of Muntinlupa and its affected residents as mandated by the Local Government Code.”
Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) Director General Gregorio Catapang Jr. announced during the agency’s 119th anniversary that NBP’s minimum, medium and maximum prison facilities will be transferred to Palawan.
The NBP Reservation in Muntinlupa, a land with an area of about 300 hectares, will be transformed into a “BuCor Global City.”
The New Bilibid Prison main building in Muntinlupa (Jonathan Hicap)
Councilor Raul Corro, majority floor leader of the Muntinlupa City Council (Photo from Sanggunian Secretariat-Muntinlupa on Facebook)
Corro said the Local Government Code “requires the National Government to conduct prior consultations and seek the prior approval of the Sanggunian Panglungsod for any project or program to be implemented within the City.
He said Section 2 of the code mandates “the State to require all national agencies and offices to conduct periodic consultations with appropriate local government units, nongovernmental and people's organizations, and other concerned sectors of the community before any project or program is implemented in their respective jurisdictions.”
Section 27 of the law also states that “no project or program shall be implemented by government authorities unless the consultations mentioned in Sections 2 (c) and 26 hereof are complied with, and prior approval of the sanggunian concerned is obtained: Provided, That occupants in areas where such projects are to be implemented shall not be evicted unless appropriate relocation sites have been provided, in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution.”
Corro said the same law “likewise requires the National Government to provide a relocation site for the affected residents of the NBP Reservation, including the employees and their families before any project is implemented.”
The Muntinlupa City Council, he said, will ask the national government through a resolution “to implement Section 289 of the Local Government Code which states that ‘Local Government Units shall have an equitable share in the proceeds derived from the utilization and development of the national wealth within their respective areas, including sharing the same with the inhabitants by way of direct benefits.”
He cited the case of the Alabang Stock Farm in Alabang, which became the Filinvest City.
“When the National Government developed the former Alabang Stock Farm in Muntinlupa, the local government was given its equitable share by way of parcels of land which later on became the sites of the Ospital ng Muntinlupa, the Alabang Public Market, the Alabang Transport Terminal, the Liwasan ng mga Bayani Park and Barangay Hall and the Pedro Diaz High School,” he said.
According to Corro, “The City Council shall also ensure that the development of the NBP Reservation shall be in accordance with its Comprehensive Land Use Plan and Zoning Ordinance.”
Muntinlupa Mayor Ruffy Biazon said the city government should be consulted in any development of the NBP land.