Remaining fish pens set to be demolished
OWNERS GIVEN 15 DAYS NOTICE
THE owners of some 60 illegal fish pens whose structures were not demolished after presenting claims of land ownership in various rivers of Dagupan were finally given notices to harvest or transfer their fish stocks to give way to the demolition that will be carried out by Task Force Bantay Ilog.
Rony Cayabyab, operations officer of Task Force Bantay Ilog, said personnel of the City Agriculture Office (CAO) already hand-carried the notices to the owners and demolition will commence 15 days after receipt.
Mayor Belen Fernandez earlier gave the go signal for the demolition of the remaining fish pens which were part of the more than 200 that sprouted in various rivers during the past city administration.
Owners of those that remained standing in the waters contested that their structures were built on private property based on either land titles or tax declaration certificates.
Even after the distribution of the notices, the owners reportedly continue to assert their right and are seeking another dialogue with Fernandez.
Based on a report prepared by City Agriculture Officer Emma Molina, at least 13 of these fish pens are completely under water, 17 are claimed to be accretion areas and the rest are said parts of former fish ponds but portions of these were already under water.
Molina said all these fish pens are considered illegal as they are not covered by an Aquatic Lease Agreement (ALA) as provided for in a city ordinance.
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