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SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2017
Jimbo Gulle, Editor
Roger Garcia, Issue Editor
LGUs
Local Gov’t Units
mslocalgov@gmail.com
LGBTS TAKE CABANATUAN ANNIVERSARY SPOTLIGHT
APPEALS MOUNT
FOR'RESPONSIBLETOURISM'IN MT.PULAG By Abe Almirol
A
WEBSITE promoting mountain adventure proclaimed that Mt. Pulag is one of the “most well-maintained premier national parks” in the country.
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources regulations placed it under a National Integrated Protected Area System (NIPAS) but the accolade could turn out to be a risky overstatement. And just recently, there are sectors that have actively calling to allow the park to have some ‘rest.’ Reason: Conditions not favorable to the conservation of the national park have intensified as more tourists are lured to Mt. Pulag’s charm.
‘Come for the adventure, Go home an advocate’
Environmental groups in Nueva Vizcaya and Benguet appealed to those promoting Mt. Pulag tours to package it as something beyond sheer excitement and fun. Tour organizers were advised to design a “learning experience among climbers so that they would take home a pow-
erful advocacy” that supports the local economy around Mt. Pulag. Local tour guides worry about non-biodegradable waste disposal inside the park. Climbers should be given a chance to enjoy a fresh meal of organic vegetable salad or buy something to take home pick-and-pay style. Most climbers eat canned goods the whole time of their stay, even on their way out of the national park. DENR park authorities are faced with the challenge of delineating a clear line where livelihood activities could still be permitted so that the 528 documented Scan this icon to plant species, 33 bird species and sevview the PDF eral mammals belonging to the threatened categories would not be disturbed.
'WONDROUS PULAG.' Environmental groups in Nueva Vizcaya and Benguet have appealed to those promoting tours up Mt. Pulag to package them as ‘something beyond sheer excitement and fun.’
TOURISTS DELIGHT IN ONCE-FEARED ROAD By Manilyn B. Ugalde TABACO CITY, Albay—The once feared 25-kilometer isolated Sabloyon stretch in Albay has turned into a busy route for motorists and travelers to and from Metro Manila. Stretching the cities of Tabaco (1st District) and Ligao (3rd District), the once neglected mountainous Sabloyon route was a frequent site of highway robbery incidents and intermittent skirmishes between government troops
and the New People’s Army rebels. Motorists in the first district of the province and the island Catanduanes, now enjoys a traffic-free and comfortable travel to Camarines Sur onward to Manila without anymore passing the 55-kilometer long route via the cities of Legazpi (2nd District) and Ligao. According to Engineer Cesar Sanorjo, chief of the Construction Section of the Albay 1st District Engineering, motorists no longer fear traveling the Sabloyon route 24/7 virtually treating the insur-
gency threat as a thing of the past as a result of the improvements and widening of the route to four-lane. Now completely concreted with the Tabaco side fully widened to four-lane, the ascending high level mid-portion of Sabloyon route between Tabaco and Ligao spanning four barangay villages estimated 4,000-plus feet above the sea level is overlooking closer to Mayon where local and foreign tourists on clear days enjoy taking photos and videos of the alluring and perfect cone of Mt. Mayon.
CABANATUAN CITY—The lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender (LGBT) community in this city has grabbed the spotlight with the holding of several events and activities dedicated for them during the cityhood anniversary’s forthcoming celebration here. The said events composed of the LGBT Olympics and Battle of the Queens: Miss Gay 2017 is expected to draw massive support and participation amidst the growing population of LGBTs whose ranks have reportedly swelled to 5,000 throughout the city alone. The sports competitions for LGBTs was organized by the Gays and Lesbians Association of Cabanatuan (Galac) led by its president Jeffrey Fernandez. It forms part of a series of activities under the “Banatu Festival 2017” sponsored by the city government. Fernandez said that Galac has more or less 700 members although their total population, including non-members could be around 5,000 throughout the city, some of them living in the city’s outskirts. On the average, they are within the 20 to 35 age bracket although there are some as young as 10 years old. “As much as possible, we recruit as members those who are already of legal age,” he added.
SCHOLARSHIPS FOR CONVICTS' KIN PROPOSED A COUNCILOR in Quezon City is batting for the inclusion of children of convicts under its regular scholarship program. District 1 Councilor Ivy Xenia Lagman called on Mayor Herbert Bautista to back Resolution No. 6912-2016 to provide scholarships for children whose parents are serving jail sentences. The measure authored by Lagman, if passed, would expand the scholarship program’s accessibility to such children. The female councilor said the government must look after the welfare of children whose parents are behind bars since their parents are not capable of providing them with the financial support for their education. “This resolution is expected to provide the needed impetus to the government’s continuing effort to make education accessible to all,” she said. Under the city’s scholarship and development program, financial assistance through scholarship grant is being provided to underprivileged but deserving students who want to pursue higher education.
DPWH EYES P9.5-B DALTON BY-PASS ROAD
By Ferdie G. Domingo
‘MAMANWA’ DANCE. Members of the indigenous Mamanwa tribe dance during the anniversary celebration of Mahagnao Volcano Natural Park in Barangay Cagmanaba, Burauen, Leyte. Declared a natural park on Feb. 3, 1998, the park features an extinct volcano crater lake, hot springs with multi-colored mud, and rocks believed to be medicinal. Leyte 2nd district Rep. Henry C. Ong (seated right) and environment officials attended the ceremony. Mel Caspe
SAN JOSE CITY—The proposed P9.5-billion Dalton Pass By-pass Road Project (DPBRP), which is intended to serve as alternate route in the treacherous Dalton Pass, has been submitted by the Duterte administration to the Japanese government for approval and funding amid safety concerns, a top official of the Department of Public Works and Highways has announced. DPWH Undersecretary Emil Sadain said that the project, considered an environmentally critical project, is being eyed for Official Development Assistance with the Japanese International Cooperation Agency instead of
the Public-Private Partnership scheme. “We have applied it for ODA funding which would lessen the project cost. If you do it through PPP, the cost would be double,” he said. Sadain said the feasibility study for the project has been finished five years ago and the revised FS is expected to be finished within this year. “If the construction pushes through, it would be a big relief for motorists travelling to Dalton Pass,” he said, adding the works include 60 kilometers of road networks and 1.5-kilometer mountain tunnelling works between this city and Nueva Vizcaya. Once completed, it would be the first-ever
mountain tunnel project in the country and ease the existing road to Dalton Pass which is often cut off by landslides during the rainy season. The Dalton Pass is considered a vital arterial road linking Metro Manila to Central Luzon and Northern Luzon. However, calamities have led to its closure over the past 30 years. According to a study made in February 2012 by the Kensetsu Gijyutsu Center, Infrastructure Development Institute–Japan Central Consultant Inc., typhoons which occurred every year since have led to the closure of the road. The same study showed that a nine-hour closure of the road would lead to economic losses of P470 million.