DAGUPAN CITY, March 26 (PNA) — Approval of the proposed amendments to the Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP) of Dagupan will enable the city of 163,000 people to catch up with the development of many fast-growing cities in Pangasinan, Region 1 and the entire Philippines.
This was bared by Dagupan City Planning and Development Coordinator Romeo Rosario when he presented the proposed amendments to the city’s existing CLUP during a public hearing conducted on March 26 by the Sangguniang Panlungsod at the city museum.
The proposed amendments seek to include into the CLUP three additional growth zones, the Lucao-Pantal corridor, the Bonuan area and the Tebeng-Caranglaan area, all of which can be developed as proposed locations for additional specific businesses that may be expanding or coming in.
But of the three proposed growth areas, the most controversial is the Lucao-Pantal corridor which is traversed by the new Jose R. De Venecia Expressway as the area is mostly fishponds which need to be converted from agricultural to commercial.
Rosario said the Lucao-Pantal area is being eyed as a proposed location for establishments that will provide entertainment, fine dining and as location for hotels that will cater to foreign and local tourists.
It is that area where the new government center will also rise and where a fish port will also be built.
Councilor Alfie Fernandez, chairman on laws of the SP, said the city council must really make sure if these tracts of fishponds can really be converted from agricultural to commercial to make the CLUP consistent with existing laws of the land.
That is why in the next public hearing on April 8, the regional directors of the Department of Agriculture and Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) were invited to attend as they are being asked to make certification whether the fishponds sought to be covered in the CLUP can be converted.
Councilor Jose Netu Tamayo, a lawyer, said under an executive order issued by then President Fidel Ramos, approval of the CLUP is dependent on the certifications from the DA, DAR, DENR and HLURB, whether these fishponds can really be converted into commercial lands.
Tamayo lauded Mayor Belen Fernandez for seeking additional growth centers in Dagupan as he expressed confidence that once the amendments are approved through proper legal processes, owners of existing fishponds in the Lucao-Pantal area will be happy to note that the value of their lands will double if not triple.
Rosario said inclusion of the three proposed growth areas will shore up business and employment opportunities in Dagupan, enabling it to realize its dream to become a “Smart City” by 2016.
Once approved by the SP, the CLUP will be submitted to HLURB for review before it will go to the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) for approval. (PNA)