70 illegal fish pens still operating
AUGUST 30 DEADLINE NEARS
WITH less than two weeks before the August 30 deadline set by Mayor Belen Fernandez on clearing Dagupan’s rivers of illegal structures, at least 70 illegal fish pens and cages remain.
City agriculturist Emma Molina, also the head of Bantay Ilog that directs dismantling operations, admitted the number of pending tasks remains high but expressed confidence that her team will be able to meet the deadline.
Molina said 88 out of the 205 constructed structures in the city’s river system have been dismantled while fish pens of 46 owners who claim to have entitlement and have submitted the required documents have been spared so far.
Pending completion of the e valuation of the submitted documents, their fish pens will temporarily be excluded from the dismantling operations.
Molina explained the deadline set by the city government was intended to give the owners of the other illegal structures, mostly situated in Barangays Carael and Calmay, time to harvest their fish before dismantling.
“We are taking every measure to make sure that we are acting humanely to them to avoid issues and confrontations but if they will not comply we will impose forced demolition,” she said.
Molina, however, admitted that they have learned that some of the illegal operators continue to disperse fingerlings despite warnings on the dismantling operations.
She said the cages will be demolished after August 30 whether the owners have completed their harvests of not.
The Bantay Ilog team maintains a map indicating the status of the fish pens with schedules for harvesting. —Dada Martin Austria
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