By Leilanie G. Adriano
Staff Reporter
ADAMS, Ilocos Norte—The Sangguniang
Bayan of Adams, about 106 kilometers from Laoag City conducted an out of
town session in Sitio Bucarot, the remotest portion of this town which is also
being claimed by the neighboring Municipality of Calanasan in Apayao province.
Since 2005 or for about nine years
now, Sitio Bucarot remains a disputed area between Adams and Calanasan, confusing
its residents on which province and town they belong.
At present, residents here
have two barangay halls, two basketball courts and two primary schools, built
separately by the two contending municipalities for its people.
For nine years now, Adams
town officials led by Mayor Eric Baoingan have been scoring the snail-paced
resolution of the case earlier filed by the municipal government with the
provincial government seeking legal assistance for the alleged encroachment of
the Apayao municipality, this time being headed by former congressman and
governor and now Calanasan Mayor Elias Bulut Sr.
According to Adams Vice Mayor
Wagner Poking, the holding of the session in the disputed sitio is meant as a message
to the people that the Adams government is serving them.
The slow resolution of the
case, according to the Sangguniang Panlalawigan is mainly due to the failure of
the Apayao government every time a meeting is set to hear the case.
Then Adams Mayor Wilma
Dupagen initiated the filing of a case against the Calanasan government, saying
she had submitted all the necessary documents to support her claims that in
accordance with law that Sitio Bucarot is part of Adams and not a part of
Calanasan.
Sitio Bucarot is far from
Adam’s poblacion area and there is no accessible road going to the area, which
has forced the sitio’s residents to travel to Calanasan, Apayao to buy their
basic needs and services.
According to locals, going to
Sitio Bucarot takes about three hours to hike or even up to six hours for
non-residents.
With this development, Adams
officials related that the Calanasan local government had reportedly taken
advantage of the situation as the town mayor appointed several local officials
in the area and even funded several infrastructure projects in the sitio
including building an access road to Calanasan, a Day Care Center and an elementary
school complete from Grades 1-6.
It may be recalled that the
former Adams Mayor Dupagen, even issued a memorandum to the Calanasan
officials to desist from constructing infrastructures in the sitio as it is the
duty of the Adams municipal government to provide these to the sitio residents
but there was no reply from the then-Calanasan mayor now Rep. Leonora
Bulut-Begtang, whom the memo was addressed to.
Adams officials theorized
that the Calanasan municipal government is interested in the sitio because of a
proposed mining exploration in the area, which Adams town is rejecting due to
the possible ill-effects on the environment.
It may also be for an
additional share in the internal revenue allotment (IRA) as IRA shares are
computed based on land area and population.
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