Sustaining Dagupan’s growth

DAGUPAN may not be the prettiest of cities but it is undeniably the most bustling commercial center in the Northern Luzon area. Its aim to maintain its status as the center of commerce in the region rests not just on beautification efforts but on a no-nonsense style of management and administration of its land and river assets.

The roads are a good place to start. Even as a new business district begins to rise in the Lucao area, especially after the opening of the Pantal-Lucao highway, it remains crucial to keep the old downtown area in order. Recent efforts, for example, to minimize road accidents involving motorcycles, which are gaining popularity alongside the rising fuel prices, are laudable. But this must be taken further by instituting a city-wide campaign not only by educating motorists, motorcycle and tricycle drivers and pedestrians about road courtesy but to finally enforce traffic rules strictly.

The peripheral areas surrounding the main business district zones are equally important as these serve as the labor bloodline of the city’s heart. Mayor Alipio Fernandez Jr. could not afford to overlook the mushrooming residential projects being undertaken by private corporations or individuals because these, while they may now seem to be signs of progress, could poison the city eventually. Improperly constructed subdivisions could lead to worse flooding in the city owing to bad drainage systems.

Then there is the unabated illegal reclamation and encroachments along the river banks that could lead not only to major squatting problems that plague many an urban area but to natural disasters.

And speaking of squatting, the mayor must also now put his foot down on the illegal settling issue in Sitio Russia which has been dragging on for months with the residents not showing any sign of actually wanting to be resettled. The longer the city government waits and indulges in the illegitimate residents’ legal dramatics, the bigger the chances of the Korean government pulling out its financial grant for construction of the Seafood Processing Plant which has already been made available late last month. The Fernandez administration must exercise political will over political accommodations now before it’s too late.

An equally important focus for the city is its environment. The open dumpsite, an inarguably health and environment hazard, must go. To date, the city government has not presented an alternative to it notwithstanding the fact that it continues to violate the country’s law on dumpsites.

Dagupan, which has survived major calamities in the past, has the makings of a highly-urbanized but still charming city with an old-world feel. But it needs careful planning and serious implementation from determined leaders with political will.

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