Mayor Belen urges passage of new CLUP
IT’S time to think about the city’s growth and future.
This was the call of Dagupn City Mayor Belen T. Fernandez to the Sangguniang Panlungsod as she reiterated the urgency of approving the proposed Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP).
She pointed out that probably Dagupan is now one or two of the cities in the Philippines that have not renewed their respective CLUPs to be in tune with the changing times.
Ms. Fernandez said time is already of the essence and the issues have already been fully ventilated through a series of public hearings, expressing frustration over another request by Minority Leader Redford Erfe-Mejia to hold another public hearing.
Stressing the need for new growth centers, she echoed the call of Andre Abalos, president of the Pangasinan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, that the proposed zoning ordinance to be appended to the CLUP be approved to enable investors and local businessmen plan their expansion and new activities.
“How can we grow at a rate faster than our neighbors if we no longer have enough place to accommodate new business or expansion activities?” she intoned.
She added that while she and Rep. Gina de Venecia are zealously sourcing funds to bankroll the establishment of a new government center, the project cannot proceed without a new CLUP in place that will set the road map for the city’s development from 2015 to 2025.
The new government center is being proposed to be located along the Lucao-Pantal area, one of the three new growth areas proposed for Dagupan.
Other big projects that cannot proceed without a new CLUP are the fish port to be funded by the national government and the U.S. 8.4 million dollar Waste to Worth Project to be funded by the World Bank at no cost to the city.
The other proposed growth centers are the Bonuan area and the Caranglaan-Tebeng area.
The mayor pointed out that that the proposed new CLUP was already reviewed by the Regional Land Use Committee (RLUC) composed of various government agencies headed by the NEDA and has already received favorable endorsement from the Department of Agrarian Reform, Department of Agriculture and Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
“Our lawmakers should think of the future and of our children and their children’s children. They should not deny the future generations of Dagupenos a chance to grow and prosper,” she stressed.
The existing CLUP was approved in 1978 during the term of then Mayor Cipriano Manaois. (Leonardo Micua)
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