Mandaue brgys told to register apartments, boarding houses, tenants

The Mandaue City Presidencia (City Hall) | CDN Digital photo

MANDAUE CITY, Cebu – Barangays in Mandaue City are encouraged to pass an ordinance that would require owners, lessors, and operators of townhouses, apartments, condominiums and boarding houses to register their properties and their tenants.

Subangdaku Barangay Captain Ernie Manatad, who is the president of the Association of Barangay Councils (ABC) and the  chairman of the Committee on Laws and Ordinances of the Mandaue City Council, said that the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) is urging barangays to register migrants who have been staying in their respective areas for at least six months.

Of the 27 barangays in Mandaue City, Centro was among the first to pass an ordinance that would require owners, lessors, and operators of townhouses, apartments, condominiums and boarding houses to register their properties and their tenants.

Security

Centro Barangay Captain Ignacio “Ian” Cortes II said they passed the ordinance for security reasons and for their barangay to have a data base that they could use in the future.

“There was a time nga naay nag-abang in one of our puroks. Wala gyud sila kahibaw unless nadakpan. Kawatan diay to siya. Can you just imagine? Ingon ana ba,” said Cortes.

The ordinance from Barangay Centro got the support of Manatad’s committee, when they discussed this last week.

As a procedure, barangay ordinances like the one passed by Barangay Centro are sent to the Mandaue City Council for approval before these could be implemented.

Centro Ordinance

In the ordinance, Barangay Centro requires all properties and tenants to be registered in their House Registry Book.

A fine of P500 for the first offense and P750 for the second offense would be imposed on violators of the ordinance.  A harsher penalty of P1, 000 and/or the non-renewal of the clearance to operate their business would be imposed on the third offense.

During the registration process, tenants, renters, and bed spacers are required to present a valid government-issued ID with a recent photo and a clearance from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).

Registration, according to Cortes, may be done through the purok leaders.

Mandatory registration

Manatad said that of the 27 barangays in Mandaue City, only very few of these were already able to pass an ordinance that would require the mandatory registration of boarding houses, apartments, and condominiums as well as its tenants.

“We appeal to the [other] barangays in Mandaue City to come up with the same ordinance,” Manatad added.

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