THE Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) passed a resolution declaring Malico in the eastern town of San Nicolas as the ”Barangay Summer Capital of Pangasinan” during its out-of-town session in Barangay Malico, San Nicolas on March 20.

On motion of Sixth District Board Member Noel Bince, the measure adopted an earlier resolution on February 10, 2023 of the Sangguniang Bayan of San Nicolas that declared Malico as “Barangay Summer Capital of Pangasinan”.

Nestled at the top of the Caraballo Mountains, Malico is the farthest barangay of San Nicolas, about 802.3 meters above sea level, with a temperate climate like Baguio, is now frequented by tourists from Pangasinan and Nueva Vizcaya.

Bince said the resolution declaring Malico as “Barangay Summer Capital of Pangasinan “ should serve to consolidate the claim of San Nicolas that Malico is actually within its territory, disputing the claim by Sta. Fe town in Nueva Vizcaya.

Bince said two weeks after the passage of a resolution by the Nueva Vizcaya Sangguniang Panlalawigan, urging the provincial government and the municipality of San Nicolas “to respect the memorandum of agreement “ signed by the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority (NAMRIA) over Malico as being part of Nueva Vizcaya, Governor Ramon Guico III visited Barangay Malico, together with Mayor Alicia Primicias-Enriquez, where the provincial executive declared that the provincial government will not surrender even an inch of the territory of Pangasinan from any other province.

Exacerbating the controversy, the municipality of Sta. Fe, Nueva Vizcaya recently constructed a tourism outpost in Malico and collects tourism fee, a move that was strongly protested by the Sangguniang Bayan of San Nicolas, reasserting that the location of the “tourism post” is within the territorial jurisdiction of Malico, San Nicolas, Pangasinan… since time immemorial.”

Mayor Enriquez lamented that her request for  P4 million from NTFELCAC, of which P1 million pesos was spent for the already completed solar powered street lights of Malico, but the construction of the access road in Malico at P3 million was halted because of the resolution of SP of Nueva Vizcaya.

She asked Governor Guico to suspend or order the stoppage of any activity by Nueva Vizcaya within a disputed area on order of the other province .

Vice Governor Mark Lambino referred the letter of Mayor Enriquez to Provincial Legal Officer Baby Ruth Torre for action. (Leonardo Micua)

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