Villaverde road resurrects boundary row
PANGASINAN-NUEVA VIZCAYA
THE long-standing boundary-dispute between the province of Pangasinan and Nueva Vizcaya was resurrected with the scheduled construction of the Villaverde Road that would link San Nicolas, Pangasinan to Sta. Fe, Nueva Vizcaya.
This became apparent following the announcement of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Region 1 Assistant Regional Director Ronnel Tan that the construction of Nueva Vizcaya side of the road is now complete and was extended three kilometers inside San Nicolas.
Tan spoke before the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) during its question hour on Monday where he reported the status of the Villaverde Road, formerly a foot trail taken by the Filipino and American forces when they pursued the retreating Japanese Forces towards the end of World War II.
Tan said the project, consisting of 27 kilometers, from San Nicolas to its easternmost barangay of Malico, was allocated P1.5 billion till its completion in 2018. The amount will be used for the construction of four concrete bridges along the way and the concreting of some 20 kilometers of roads.
Of this, P300 million was allocated this year for the initial 63-lineal meter bridge which is set for completion in March next year and the concreting of the first 13 kilometers of road.
The project is set to receive P280 million in the proposed 2016 national budge which will be used for the construction of three more concrete bridges.
The remaining allocation will be released from 2017 to 2018 for the concreting of the remaining missing gaps of the highway, earlier proposed to be an alternate road from Manila to Cagayan Valley in case the Dalton Pass in Nueva Vizcaya is closed by landslide.
Sixth District Board Member Ranjit Ramos Shahani, however, said the boundary dispute is irrelevant.
Pangasinan and Nueva Vizcaya has ben enmeshed in a boundary dispute over Barangay Malico, the highest peak in the Caraballo Mountain which has a climate similar to that of Baguio and is being eyed by Pangasinan as a mountain resort.
“When I was a congressman, I built a school for the children of Barangay Malico as it is a part of San Nicolas, Pangasinan. To date, there is a member of the Sangguniang Bayan of San Nicolas who is from Malico,” said Shahani.
He said that to date, Barangay Malico is divided into three parts, one is being claimed by San Nicoias, Pangasinan and the other is being claimed by Sta. Fe, Nueva Vizcaya. He didn’t identify the third one.
Shahani said rather than prolonging their dispute, both Pangasinan and Nueva Vizcaya should instead propose joint development of Malico. (Leonardo Micua)
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