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Pagudpud mayor pushes for river dredging, reforestation to prevent flooding

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By Leilanie G. Adriano (Staff Reporter)

Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte—Owing to massive river siltation and soil erosion in this town, Pagudpud mayor Rafael Ralph Benemerito sought the help of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to reconsider the grant of gratuitous permit to the local government unit in order to extract quarry resources from the silted rivers at Brgys. Dampig, Saguigui, Pancian, Pasaleng, Burayoc and Caparispisan.

The mayor likewise urged local communities to support the DENR’s greening program as part of mitigating the impact of climate change and help preserved the town’s remaining forest cover.

In October, this year, Mr. Benemerito was accused of illegal quarrying in his town, prompting members of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan to recommend to Ilocos Norte Governor Matthew Joseph M. Manotoc to revoke the municipality’s gratuitous permit for violations of its terms and conditions.

Based on the investigation report of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan, it states that the Gratuitous Permit No. 003-2020 earlier issued to Mr. Benemerito on May 14, 2020 supposedly to extract 10,000 cubic meters of materials from permit areas situated within riverbeds covering at least six barangays in this town was used to conduct quarrying activities in a private property owned by the mayor’s family at Brgy. Caparispisan, which covers an area of 1.2 hectares and was not a river bed.

Under the law, the provincial board suggested that the mayor should have secured a private gratuitous permit which will allow him to extract, remove and utilize quarry resources like gravel, sand or loose materials for a non-renewable period of 60 calendar days and that the materials shall be for personal use.

The Ilocos Norte board likewise recommended to the governor that Mr. Benemerito be held liable administratively for allegedly taking advantage of his position as the incumbent mayor.

As of this posting, the governor has yet to act on the proposed cancellation of Mr. Benemerito’s gratuitous permit.

But the mayor made an appeal to the governor to reconsider the grant of gratuitous permit to the municipality citing the rivers in Pagudpud are heavily silted which contributes to flooding in the area.

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