MORE NEWS, KALINGA

Kalinga execs pledge to solve bloody land dispute
RIZAL, Kalinga – Town officials here pledged full support to the resolution of the bloody Malapiat land dispute assuring technical and financial assistance to Task Force Malapiat created to do the job under the amended executive order issued by Gov. Floydelia Diasen.

Rizal organized its own task force in July 2007 after the June 25 encounter between occupants of the disputed area with law enforcers where nine farmers were killed and 10 policemen wounded.

Malapiat is the remaining unresolved area after an inter-agency task force successfully delineated and titled 30 of the 34 claims of plaintiffs and intervenors.

On the urging of Rizal officials to continue activities of the provincial and municipal task forces, a merger executive order was issued with Diasen as chairperson and Mayor Chris Mark Dela Cruz as co-chair.

Municipal administrator Marcelo Dela Cruz during a consultation and planning meeting at the Sangguniang Bayan Hall here last week said the LGU of Rizal is 100 percent supportive to the lasting solution of the problem.

“This problem is within our LGU, so we want it eliminated once and for all. Whatever resources needed, the LGU is willing to shell out counterpart even in the form of fund allocation,” Dela Cruz said.

He said some were carried out primary concerned party and these worked well. “Two buyers of parcel of lots were paid back their money after discovering that what they bought was earlier sold,” he said.

He said transactions went on blindly without proper documentation and presentation of requirements.

“What complicated the problem was that certain lots were sold more than twice so claimants overlapped on their claims,” the older Dela Cruz said adding four are now fighting ownership – the intervenor, actual tiller, the buyer, and the ‘squatter’.

On the other hand, Vice Mayor Renato Vicente said he supported thrust of the Sangguniang Bayan to legislate policy to attain objectives of the task force.

“Peace and order is our primary agenda for this year, therefore, problems disrupting peace stability have to be achieved,” he said.

He added the Malapiat dispute has put Rizal in the “shame-map. We have to resolve it, by approving legislation to support financial appropriations for the program.

Meanwhile, Task Force Malapiat agreed to push through with its verification survey on lots within the disputed area here to delineate among claimants the remaining 176 hectares left in 2003 delineation, particularly that of intervenor Buenaventura Sarga.

The joint task force signed a resolution requesting the Department of Agrarian Reform for the immediate approval of the Swede survey, which land occupants want to be used.

Occupants earlier petitioned to stop surveyors in December last year saying they desired to have a Swede instrument do the survey over the manual surveys.

Under the redefined objectives of the joint task force, arbitration committee chairman Francis Calsiyao of the Public Attorney Office said delineation will be based on the result of the Swede survey.

“Intervenor claims that are not found by the Swede survey will be deleted and survey shall expand to unsurveyed lots,” he said.

The action plan has been revised to integrate activities drawn from the respective plans of the two LGUs which are deemed necessary to carry out during the delineation.

The joint task force also agreed for occupant to establish proof of ownership in order to identify who is the intervenor, actual tiller, buyer and intruder. -- PIA-Kalinga


Hog disease hits Tabuk
TABUK CITY, Kalinga – A hog disease is now spreading in some barangays here, the provincial veterinary office bared.

The disease which hit the province in November last year has now affected the following barangays of Tabuk: Nasgueban, Appas; Bulanao Centro, Bulanao Norte, Dagupan West, San Juan, Agbannawag, Casigayan, Laya East and Magsaysay.

During the swine disease occurrence Investigation conducted from Feb. 4-5 in the abovementioned barangays, signs and symptoms observed among breeders ranged from coughing, sneezing, in appetence, fever, abortion and death.

Veterinary officer Dr. Mariano Dunwan said a surveillance team led by Dr. Danilo Acosta, senior agriculturist of the Bureau of Animal Industry found out infected pigs had mixed infection of hog cholera and porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome.

“We are still waiting for the lab results of the blood and tissue samples gathered by the team for analysis from the BAI, so we advise that hog raisers and consumers should take necessary precautionary measures to prevent the spread of the disease in other parts of the province or even outside the province,” he said.

The team recommended that total control of animal movement should be strictly observed.

“We greatly discourage the selling and slaughtering of pigs until these are declared free of disease. Backyard slaughtering in affected areas is not allowed,” he said.

For dead animals, he said these should be burned and buried while sick animals should not be sold or slaughtered.

Biodiversity he said, must also be strictly implemented where strict quarantine should be applied to affected animals, and that owners should limit their movements and should disinfect premises and install foot bath near their pig pens.

“Pigs coming from infected region are not also allowed to enter the province unless later declared free. So to closely monitor the movement of animals coming and going out of the capital town, the City government in partnership with the OAS established quarantine checkpoints in the entry points of Tabuk City,” he said.

Dunwan said the team also recommended the immediate creation of a disease surveillance team to immediately look into similar problems in the future.

For piglets, signs of disease are diarrhea and chilling, sneezing, coughing, reddening of the body and ears and sudden death among growers or fatteners.

Other municipalities should refrain from buying live pigs or pork from Tabuk and bringing it to their municipality to avoid the possible transmission of the disease in their localities, officials said.

In a related interview, Agricultural Technologist Aracelie Reveche said consumption of infected pork could also be harmful to people, especially if the infected animal was injected just a few hours or days before it was slaughtered.

“The medicine or disease of the animal even if we could not observe any effect in human could be accumulated by the human body. For instance, the medicine given to a certain animal could also be absorbed by the body and could cause possible immunity to that drug,” she explained.

She said those slaughtering sick animals should take into consideration the innocent people who might be buying their products and likewise buyers or consumes should be aware of the possible effects of eating sick animals. – GGD-PIA