ANGELES CITY—A 560-hectare lot adjacent to Clark Development Corporation is being eyed by the local government unit here for its forest park and watershed projects once approved by the Bases Conversion Development Authority.
This after Mayor Carmelo Lazatin Jr., sought BCDA attention informing the latter of the city government plans to convert the forested portion of Barangay Sapang Bato into a protected area.
In his letter, Lazatin asked the BCDA to allow and entrust part of the military reservation area to the city government to push with the site development plan.
City Chief Adviser and Tactician Director IC Calaguas, as the project director, said the 560-hectare land is part of the military reservation area covered by the Bases Conversion law and under the authority of BCDA.
Calaguas said that to protect water source and steady supply of water for Angeles, the Sapangbato watershed must be protected.
Part of the plan is to secure the area and conduct massive reforestation to increase water reserves which will benefit the city and the Metro Clark area.
“The city government aims to continue strengthening the protection of our water source,” Calaguas stressed.
“Water is life,” Calaguas added.
Meanwhile, the City Council earlier passed a resolution calling for the immediate transfer of management of the 560-hectare lot to the city government. The resolution was forwarded to BCDA President & CEO Vince Dizon.
Under the proposed plan, the city government will manage the property for 50 years and will allot a budget of P3 million for each year. This is to ensure the reinforcement of massive reforestation in the area.
In relation to this, Mayor Lazatin will request the Department of the Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to declare it as a protected area and tree reservation park.
Calaguas said she had discussed the initial plans with BCDA Senior Vice President Joshua Bingcang.
Lazatin said he is going to ask the help of the Abacan River and Angeles Watershed Advocacy Council Inc., (ARAW -ACI) led by businessman and environmentalist Renato “Abong” Tayag for the reforestation.
ARAW-ACI is a non-profit and non-stock organization registered under the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
When Lazatin took office, part of his priority programs is to devise medium-and-long term programs to protect the water source of the city.