By Dominic B. dela Cruz
Staff reporter
Batac
City—Vice mayor Jeffrey Jubal Nalupta
disclosed that the provincial government has conveyed the possible development
of the 12-hectare Billoca fish farm located along the national highway.
On September 5, Atty. Yvette
Leynes of the provincial legal office personally talked with members of the
Sangguniang Panlungsod here regarding the development of the said fish farm.
In the said meeting, Ms.
Leynes said the provincial government needs a waiver from the city government
here so they could look for prospective investors for the fish farm’s
development.
During the discussion,
various ideas were presented and the vice mayor stressed the need to protect
the interest of the Batac and its people.
Mr. Nalupta related that they
presented options to Ms. Leynes on top of the provincial government solely
developing the fish farm. He said they told the provincial official that Batac
can also raise funds for the farm’s development.
In view of this, he said they
broached the possibility of a joint project between the two local government
units for the development instead of looking for “outside” investors.
Mr. Nalupta also revealed
that when he was still the Batac mayor, he has applied for the titling of the
said land. He added that the Batac city assessor’s office records show that as
early as 1949, the tax declaration for the said land was already in the name of
the Batac government.
But when he applied for the
formal titling, the provincial government protested. He further stressed that
his application for titling then was authorized by the Batac council.
He went on to state that
after many years, he talked to Ilocos Norte governor Ma. Imelda Josefa “Imee”
R. Marcos about the possibility of sharing the land between the Ilocos Norte
and Batac governments. He divulged that both of them agreed to this.
This however was shelved
after the Dept. of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) issued an order
with finality that the lot in question is not owned by both local governments.
The said order further clarified that once the land is considered a lake, it is
owned by the state, or the national government.
Mr. Nalupta however disputed
this ruling. He insisted that the Billoca fish farm is man-made lake and not
natural lake.
“Ta no saan met a panagtotodo ket awan met danum na ngem no agtudo
agbalin nga impounding. Arig na nga
impounding la siguro daytoy gapu ta iti
likod na ket bantay wennu arig na kasla SWIP,” Mr. Nalupta explained.
This also forced the Batac
government to seek the help of the Bureau of Soils and Water Management (BSWM)
to determine if the fish farm is a natural lake or not.
In the absence of the BSWM
opinion, however, exploratory talks between the Ilocos Norte and Batac
governments have restarted.
“Ta ngamin no waiver medyo
delikadon sa dayta. We cannot just do that nga awan iti refinements na
wennu awan better options to do that. Ket
iti proposal mi ket why not just
do it as joint development and there will be no problem in as far as the city
government of Batac is concern,” Mr. Nalupta noted.
Mr. Nalupta also narrated
more history of the fish farm. He said that originally, the said property was
under the administration of the then Batac municipal government as claimant or
registered owner based on the tax declaration.
But after the enactment of
the Local Government Code of 1992, the property was turned over to the
provincial government. The LGC states that fish farms should be administered by
provincial governments.
Mr. Nalupta however pointed
out that the turnover did not include ownership as there was no deed of
donation, a deed if usufruct, or a deed of sale between the provincial and city
governments.
The fish farm is presently
used for fingerlings production intended for the entire province.
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