UNLISERBSIYO

By Belen Fernandez

ON board motor boats, nagsagawa tayo, kasama ang personnel ng DPWH, City Engineering Office at CDRRMC, ng inspection sa Pantal-Sinucalan River last Wednesday afternoon para makakuha ng important data na maaring gamitin in preparing a master plan kung paano maibsan ang pagbaha sa ating mahal na lungsod.

Opo, kumikilos na po ang DPWH, kasama ang ating mga opisyal ng Dagupan, to find short and long term solutions sa madalas na pagbaha dito sa siyudad, pagkatapos ng discussion namin ni DPWH Regional Director Rommel Tan at Second Pangasinan Engineering District Officer Edita Manuel.

Nakita namin sa inspection kung saan ang entry points ng tubig perennially flooding our communities tuwing high tide, lalo na when large volume of water from upstream ay bumababa sa ating lungsod bago ito mag-exit sa Lingayen Gulf.

Simula sa Barangay Pogo Chico sa may Nazareth Hospital, binaybay namin ang ilog Pantal  (na konektado sa Sinucalan River) then to Pogo Grande, Bacayao Norte, Lasip Grande,  Bacayao Sur, Malued at Lasip Chico upang makita namin ang talagang problema.

We observed that many masonry dikes ay naluma na ng panahon at kailangan nang mai-upgrade into steel sheet piles. Before this, our engineers inspected drainage outlets patungong Pantal River. Remember that tuwing may high tide, the water backflows through these drainage outlets kaya binabaha ang ating mga roads and communities.

Kailangang mabigyan ito ng solution in the short term or long term. But I must admit this is no easy task. This will need millions if not a billions or more at longer period to accomplish it.

But with our DPWH and other national government agencies as our reliable partners and with the help of Congressman Toff de Venecia, we may slowly but surely build the infrastructures to ultimately see the easing of the floods sa ating beloved city.

*          *          *          *

We were on Cloud 9 when our Bonuan Boquig National High School (BNHS) ay napasok sa hanay ng  Top 3 Finalists in the search for WORLD’S BEST SCHOOL for environmental action. This is a big honor that BNHS gave not only for Dagupan City and Region 1 but for the country.

Ang “Ilog Ko, Aroen Ko” ang naging entry ng BNHS sa naturang world competition. Ito ay programang naglalayong mapangalagaan ang ating mga kailugan to prevent their environmental degradation and restore their natural ecosystems so that they can continue to be teeming with fish. 

From 1,000 entries all over the world, ang BNHS ay napabilang sa Top 10 Shortlisted World’s Best School for Environmental Action. Biro ninyo, ang BNHS ay nakipagtunggali with the best schools in Argentina, Canada, Greece, Indonesia, Malawi, Palestine, Switzerland and United Arab Emirates.

Kaya’t binabati at sinasaluduhan ko ang pamunuan ng BNHS, ang principal, teachers, at mga estudyante nito, kasama ang PTA, barangay council, DENR, Knights of Columbus at Rotary Club at iba pa who joined together in supporting “Ilog Ko, Aroen”, that enabled BNHS to earn the distinction as Top 3 Word’s Best School for Environmental Action. 

Patuloy tayong manalangin para ang BNHS ang siyang tatanghaling grand winner at malalaman natin ito sa October 19, 2022, coinciding with the celebration of World Education Week.

Alamin kung papano makaboboto online para maging grand winner ang BNHS. 

*          *          *          *

 Last Tuesday, we joined a field inspection sa Barangay Awai at Bolo sa San Jacinto on the invitation of DAR. Ang nakalulungkot lang ay ang more than 29 hectares of land that the city bought in April 2002 kay Jose Mariano Cuna for P16 million, five hectares lang will be retained by the city and the rest will go to 30 farmer-tenants.

Kasama ko si City Legal Officer Aurora Valle at ibang city officials para din makita nila ang nabiling lupa ng administration ni then Mayor Benjamin Lim noong 2002.

The field inspection, attended by DAR and farmer-tenants, ay parte ng proseso para maipatupad ang decision ng Agrarian Reform Secretary na naglagay sa lupa ng siyudad under CARP coverage.

As landowner, we were given the right to choose the five hectares that we want to retain subalit binigyan tayo ng DAR ng time frame na makapili. Kung hindi natin magawa ito, ang DAR mismo ang pipili ng five-hectare land that will go to us.

Noong ating unang termino, we continued the initiative of then Mayor Al Fernandez na ipaglaban to keep the more than 29-hectare land natin upang hindi mapasailalim sa coverage ng Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program. But we didn’t have time to finish it, at hindi naman ipinagpatuloy ng administration that came after us.

Ginagawa ni Atty. Valle ang lahat ng paraan so that the 5 hectare lot will be contiguous that will suit for any good project or program that we will bring there for the benefit of the people of Dagupan.

Share your Comments or Reactions

comments

Powered by Facebook Comments