Baraan: Why are the fishponds there?

LINGAYEN—“The issue is why are there fishponds in the Hundred Islands”.
This was stressed by Provincial Administrator Rafael Baraan, reacting to the outburst of Mayor Hernani Braganza on the issues raised by officials of the provincial government about the Hundred Islands.
“The issue here is why are there fishponds in the area. Whether these structures are old or new, the fact remains that they are still existing expansively in the area,” Baraan said in a press conference Thursday afternoon.

“What is worse is they used corals to construct dikes in some areas. This is a mortal sin,” said Baraan, who was joined by Task Force Kalikasan chief Paterno Orduna and Provincial Information Officer Butch Velasco in the press conference.

BARAAN

Baraan expressed dismay over the reaction of Braganza on the issue, which, he said, cropped up when the KBP invited Task Force Kalikasan for the update on the massive coastal and river clean-up in Pangasinan.
TFK Deputy Head Tomas Cabigas presented at the forum blow-up aerial photos of the Hundred Islands indicating dike embankments of supposed fishponds
.
Orduna admitted in that press conference that the photos given to him by a Pakistani piloting one of the trainer planes landing at the Lingayen Airport and were presented at the KBP forum without intent of any malice.
“Rather than facing the issue squarely, Mayor Hernani Braganza dared Governor Amado Espino Jr.  and First District Congressman Jesus ‘Boying’ Celeste to issue a public apology for allegedly giving false statements” on the Hundred Islands issue.


Capitol did not issue any apology and instead brought out more issues about the Hundred Islands.
Meanwhile, the governor has not reacted beyond saying he wanted the issue investigated.
In that press conference, Orduna asked on what Braganza did on the Bolodeco issue when he was Agrarian Reform Secretary.


The other issues that boggles the mind, said Baraan, is the fact that the Bolo Development Corporation (Bolodeco) was granted Certificate of Land Ownership Award (CLOA) No.92927 last January 1993 despite the issuance of then President Corazon Aquino of an Executive Order on February 18,1992 that excluded national parks and other protected areas from land distribution.


In addition, then President Ferdinand Marcos issued Presidential Decree No. 1173 in 1977 abrogating all leases and cancelling land titles and patents covering portions of the Hundred Islands National Park.”
He said then PNP Regional Director Amado Espino recommended to then President Ramos the cancellation of the CLOA issued to Bolodeco, citing the negative environmental effects of the fishponds in the area. The President approved the request and then Director then Secretary Ernesto Garilao and Energy Secretary Francisco Viray to institute cancellation proceedings.


In 1999 or six years after the issuance of CLOA, a petition was filed with the Department of Agrarian Reform Adjudication Board (DARAB) at Lingayen, Pangasinan for the cancellation of the CLOA.
Baraan accused DARAB of sleeping on its job because no decision has yet been issued by it while the case has been up for resolution in that body since February 1, 2000, or more than 10 years ago.
“What is keeping DARAB from resolving the case?” Baraan asked.


At the same time, Baraan said that the expose’ of Congressman Celeste that there are other private individuals who have bigger fishponds at the Hundred Islands than Boledeco is worth looking into, especially because three of the big time fishpond operators are Braganzas.
Baraan said the general principle is, all the islands clustered around the area are parts of the Hundred Islands. He said that if the fishponds are within the islands, most likely they must be part of the National Park.


Repost from the Sunday Punch

DPWH, DENR on collision course over construction of new Pangasinan-Zambales Road

DAGUPAN CITY, Jan. 6 (PNA)—The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Department of Public Highways (DPWH) are on a collision course over the construction of a new highway leading to Zambales from Pangasinan.

The DPWH is accusing the DENR of blocking the project but the latter insists that it is only doing its duties to protect the environment and has deployed its forest rangers in the area to prevent any earth-moving activity and the cutting of trees

Romeo Nalupa, community environment and natural resources officer based in Dagupan City appealed to the DPWH and the alleged contractor of the project, Marcial Punzal, to first comply with all the requirements before proceeding with the work.

“Actually, we have advised the DPWH and the alleged contractor to stop any earth-moving (activities) and cutting of trees within the proposed road until such time that the corresponding Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) and Special Land Use with Tree Cutting Permit are issued or approved by the DENR”, Nalupa said

If only they followed our instruction to stop any earth-moving activities and the cutting of trees, everything should have been in order, Nalupa stressed.

Nalupa specifically asked the DPWH and the contractor to refrain from doing anything on the project until the approval by the DENR of the ECC and the required permit

He said the DENR had done its part and conducted inventory on the trees to be affected, numbering around 200, but was caught flat-footed when the DPWH, through the contractor, began constructing the more than 30-meter wide road and already cut trees.

The trees include timber trees like lauaan, tanguili and other tree species.

He said the DPWH should stop the project until such time that all the requirements and authorization are properly approved by the DENR, stressing that there is no need to hurry.

“My men are there (watching the project) but they could not stay there 24 hours a day because the place is quite far,” he said.

The new highway is being carved on parts of public domain, following the alignment of an old mountain trail previously taken by trucks of timber concessionaires, located in the border areas of Pangasinan and Zambales.

Sloping operations on the proposed road were done early last year by the district highway engineering offices of both Pangasinan and Zambales.

The new road will commence from Aguilar, then to Mangatarem, Pangasinan before reaching the border of Zambales.

When completed, it will be the second highway that will link Pangasinan and Zambales after the existing Infanta (Pangasinan)-Narciso (Zambales) road. (PNA)

By Leonardo V. Micua