Proposed boulevard in Dagupan City slammed
THE planned construction of a Riverside Boulevard by the Dagupan City government drew a barrage of criticisms from landowners by the bank of the Pantal River.
A letter received by The PUNCH from a concerned citizen entitled “Greed for Power” described the project as something that “smacks of arrogance”.
The proposed Riverside Boulevard will start from behind the Star Plaza Hotel and end at the back of the Land Transportation Office.
The project was announced last week by City Legal Officer George Mejia who had already written to property owners near the bank of the Pantal asking them to donate a portion of their property so the project could be realized.
The citizen who wrote the letter is among the recipients of Mejia’s letter about the project, which, he said, was planned without prior consultation or public hearing, especially for the affected property owners.
The anonymous letter-writer questioned the rationale of the project as planned by the administration of Mayor Alipio Fernandez, saying that it does not have a feasibility study as basis or an ordinance to back it up.
The concerned lot owner chided Mejia for threatening all owners of property near the Pantal River bank with legal action if they do not donate portion of their property for the project.
“You are threatening right away to sue us. We are not criminals Atty. (Mejia). We are law-abiding citizens, taxpayers. Bakit naman ganyan, Hindi naman yata tama yon,” the concerned lot owner said.
The lot owner also questioned the wisdom of building a road parallel to A.B. Fernandez Avenue West when in fact the new Dawel-Pantal-Lucao Road is about to be opened.
The lot owner instead suggested to the city government to launch a reclamation project along the Pantal River and use it for the Riverside Boulevard. This way, the letter-writer said, the city government need not sue owners of adjacent properties.
“Where is your heart, Sir? Sana Maintindihan ninyo kami at hindi isasawalang bahala ang aming ipinahihiwatig. Put yourselves in our shoes,” the lot owner appealed to Atty. Mejia.—LM
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