EVEN before any formal case is filed in court by the affected beach lot claimants against the city government for declaring all tax declarations covering foreshorelands cancelled, City Mayor Alipio Fernandez is taking a defensive posture to publicly explain the legal moorings of his order.

Executive Order No. 66, series of 2007 issued by Fernandez on Tuesday directed the City Assessor to immediately cancel all existing tax declarations issued over foreshore or public lands along the beaches of Tondaligan Park, especially in Bonuan Binloc, Dagupan City.

Fernandez told newsmen that the land covered by the TDs is adjacent to Tondaligan Park, a national park which was created by virtue of Proclamati0on No. 98 issued by then President Diosdado Macapagal in 1964.

Being a park of which the city of Dagupan is the administrator, the same therefore is beyond the commerce of man, he said.

The foreshore land, he said, are accretion area adjacent to Tondaligan Park being administered by the city of Dagupan and therefore, the city enjoys riparian rights over these areas.

The mayor noted that all the claimants and or possessors, of TDs are landed individuals which is incomprehensible as there are so many homeless and landless citizens of Dagupan who should have been given preferential rights over the public lands.

He said these individuals used their TDs to claim parcels of the foreshoreland but the needed documents for eventual ownership of the property is a different matter.

The mayor said recovery of the foreshore or public lands from the claimants will enable the city government to build a theme park in the area or if needed a low-cost housing or socialized for government employees in the area.