Iloilo City solon files bill reclassifying shoreline in Molo, Arevalo Districts
By Tara Yap
THE shoreline of Molo and Arevalo Districts in Iloilo City. (Tara Yap)
Rep. Julienne “Jam Jam” Baronda of the lone district of Iloilo City is seeking to reclassify the shoreline in two districts used for decades as commercial spaces and residential areas by informal settlers.
Baronda filed House Bill No. 4298 to repeal Republic Act No. 4767 or the 1966 law that classified the shoreline in Molo and Arevalo Districts as Iloilo City Park.
“It is both practical and equitable to revisit this designation. The affected areas no longer serve as a functional public park, but have been utilized for other purposes consistent with urban development,” Baronda said in her explanatory note.
Many houses and iconic restaurants have sprouted in the coastal area in Molo and Arevalo in the last 50 years.
Paraws (native outrigger boats) race in the annual Paraw Regatta Festival in the Molo and Arevalo coastline that faces Guimaras Island.
Baronda’s measure seeks to declare the subject shoreline areas of Molo and Arevalo as alienable and disposable lands of the public domain.
“The reclassification of these lands as alienable and disposable will regularize existing beneficial ownership, allow proper titling and registration, and generate additional revenues for the local government through real property taxes and related fees,” Baronda said.