Nueva Vizcaya Gov. Jose Gambito said there is no boundary dispute between his home province and Pangasinan over the village of Malico.
“There is no boundary dispute because Malico is part of Sta. Fe, Nueva Vizcaya, and not part of San Nicolas, Pangasinan,” Gambito said.
Gambito’s statement came amid the move of the Pangasinan provincial government to allocate P200 million worth of projects and services to the town of Malico.
Pangasinan Gov. Ramon Guico III in July said: “We know there is a dispute over this territory. If Nueva Vizcaya claims it is theirs, we respect their point of view.”
Gambito, however, called out the Pangasinan local government for attempting to assert control over Malico by pouring funds into various projects.
Gambito also cited a previous agreement between the two provinces wherein both Nueva Vizcaya and Pangasinan were to contribute P600,000 each for a survey to be conducted by the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority (NAMRIA).
Nueva Vizcaya adhered to the agreement but Pangasinan did not follow through, Gambito said, noting that the NAMRIA survey results confirmed that Malico is part of Nueva Vizcaya.
“Pangasinan is aggressively trying to claim Malico due to its significant tourism potential,” Gambito said.
Gambito also clarified that Pangasinan cannot use a cadastral survey to prove its claim that Malico is part of San Nicolas, Pangasinan.
“The delineation of the boundaries of Nueva Vizcaya and Pangasinan as a result of the NAMRIA survey ended the boundary dispute pursuant to the agreement of both provinces, which agreement, at that point, has already been consummated,” Gambito said.
