Photo opportunity with the different DENR Officials involved in the Settlement of Boundary Disputes between Bulacan and Rizal.

A fourth meeting regarding the boundary settlement between the City of San Jose del Monte, Bulacan and Montalban, Rizal was held at the Conference Room of the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (PENRO) – Rizal last October 15, 2019 which was attended by representatives from DENR-Region 3, DENR-Region 4-A (CALABARZON), PENRO- Rizal, PENRO-Bulacan, Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO)-Guiguinto, Bulacan and the Land Management Bureau (LMB).

The meeting is a levelling-off with the DENR Officials to finally come up with a common standpoint in settling the issue with the Local Government Units (LGUs) involved. The group finally come up with an agreement to consolidate in chronological order according to the date of approval the reference maps and plans in support to the boundary claims of the two (2) LGUs. As stated by Ms. Emelita Lingat of PENRO-Bulacan, the group must lay out the important maps and documents which will only focus in presenting the facts and let the LGUs decide on how to deal with the 562 hectares of contested areas of their municipalities. She added that the DENR can only suggest a possible amicable settlement for them. This statement was agreed by Engr. Bienvenido F. Cruz, the Chief of Geodetic Surveys Division of LMB, declaring that the DENR is not responsible in settling boundary disputes.

Moreover, the LMB can only provide technical assistance with regards to the issue. Also, based from the first meeting held at King Bee Chinese Restaurant, Commonwealth Avenue, Quezon City, the former Regional Executive Director of DENR Region 3, Francisco Milla, indicated that the DENR is available to provide the documents on record that will be needed to support the respective claims of the municipalities.

A series of meetings were already conducted since August-October 2017 regarding the boundary settlement of Bulacan and Rizal. This was initiated by both Governor Wilhemino Sy-Alvarado of the Provincial Government of Bulacan and Governor Rebecca Alcantara-Ynares of the Provincial Government of Rizal due to the desire of both Municipalities to finally resolve their boundary conflicts and settle their IRA shares.