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Adams council holds session in disputed Sitio Bucarot

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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