Nothing to hide

LETTERS FROM THE AGNO

March Fianza

Last week, there appeared a proposal from a popular construction firm to build a new power generation plant alongside the defunct Asin Hydro. Cousin Roger Sinot whose family owned part of the area where one of the hydro plant’s facilities is located informed me that the new electric power generation company has started its feasibility studies, a necessary requirement prior to becoming a full fledge hydro operator.

The new power generation applicant should learn from the mistakes of other companies that were more often than not, opposed by residents, farmers and landowners in areas where hydro plants are to be constructed.

The reasons for opposing are numerous. One, the landowners and residents whose daily sustenance is farming are practically facing blank walls as to how extensive the effect of the operation of the hydro plants will be on their lives. Two, they are in the dark as to what damages may be incurred on their properties once the hydro plants operate; three, they are not aware of the benefits in store for them.

Four, they wonder if they will be compensated swiftly for allowing the use of their lands and premises; five, they can be made to believe that the water that flows freely to their farms will not diminish, although they are not sure; and six, there were distinct concerns by landowners in low-lying areas as compared to landowners upstream that were not addressed. These are only few of their concerns, aside from other unseen factors.

They cannot be blamed. This is so because of their sad experience in the past when the defunct and decommissioned Asin Hydro Plants inside Tuba, Benguet were being managed by the city, the “self-proclaimed” owner of the facilities that were built by the Americans in the 1930s to energize their sawmills that produced timbering for their gold mines.

The city and the resident-landowners went to court in a bid to correct mistakes in the past operation of the hydro facilities that traversed properties with no single centavo as compensation. The situation could have been that “all is well that ends well” but despite an agreement that was mulled with the assistance of the court, the city up to now has yet to fulfill its promise to pay the landowners.

The landowners are dying one after the other and nothing positive has come out of the city’s promises. Today, the Asin landowners feel that they were deceived. I say, it was a case of swindle.

As a piece of unsolicited guidance, the new proponent has to start attaching itself to the community. It must have a “sense of community” so they say. I believe, it is better that the people in the area are well-informed of the proposed project even while it has yet to be finalized. Ramming things into one’s throat is not good just as surprising people with a product that has not been well introduced solicits insecurities. The proponent has to lay down his cards openly, unless there is something to hide.

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            There is politics even in death. As expected, politics reared its ugly head when an elective position was prematurely vacated permanently with the untimely demise of the good vice mayor Danny Farinas, the best mayor Baguio never had. This agitated the political scene in the city with barber shop denizens speculating on who will take over the post vacated by councilor Ed Bilog who took oath as vice mayor.

            The provision on the automatic succession in the sanggunian in case of a permanent vacancy as written in the Local Government Code 1991 has already been tested. The provision is easy to grasp and can easily be understood even by a plain high school graduate.

            Sec. 45 of the LGC clearly states that an appointee to the vacated position shall “come from the same political party as that of the sanggunian member who caused the vacancy and shall serve the unexpired term of the vacant office.”

That part of the provision can easily be understood by honorable councilors. But someone was quick and drafted a resolution that called for the appointment of Ms. Lilia Farinas, the wife of the late Vice Mayor Danny, who is very much qualified.

But in case she is appointed and takes her oath, a violation of the law arises because she does not come from the party where the councilor who vacated the position belonged to. In the case of the city, councilor Ed Bilog who is an LP member took his oath when called by Mayor Morris Domogan to do so, and permanently vacated his post as member of the sanggunian.

Those who signed the resolution requesting that the wife occupies the vacated seat are well understood as they may have signed “with sympathy” to the family. The LGC section further states that the appointment of the individual who will take over the post should carry with it a “nomination and a certificate of membership” of the appointee from the “highest official of the political party concerned”, that is President PNoy, being the highest official of the political party.

The councilors cannot make other interpretations of an already tested law, especially when the provisions of the law have all been discussed prior to the approval of the LGC 23 years ago. And I thought I heard it said more than a hundred times that we are a nation of laws.