Burnham fishing tilt attracts outside anglers / Sewer treatment plant

CITY HALL BEAT

Aileen P. Refuerzo

BAGUIO CITY -- – The Yuletide Fishing Tournament here has attracted competitors from outside Baguio like Benguet, Pangasinan and Manila.
    Angler and pioneer Burnham Lake permit grantee Rafael Serrano who serves as tournament chair in collaboration with the City Environment and Parks Management Office led by lawyer Rhenan Diwas said registration for the fishing contest will be on until Dec. 15, 10 am to 3 pm at Malcolm Square.
    Serrano continues to encourage anglers from here and abroad who share his passion for fishing to join the city's fishing activities.
    “Maraming nagpapasalamat sa akin sa pag introduce ng fishing sports dito sa Baguio pero ito ay hindi magiging posible kung wala ang suporta ni Mayor Benjamin Magalong," he said.
    He said that for this tournament, he was able to get sponsorships from his friends in the US and also in the city.
    "May nag sponsor ng trophies para sa mga seniors na magpaparticipate. Masaya ako sa tiwala nila sa atin," he said.
    Serrano said as early as now, they are now planning another fishing tournament for next year.
     "We plan to conduct a Panagbenga fishing tournament in March 2023 and this time, it will be a regional fishing competition," he said.
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Angler Clemen Encarnacion of Camp 7  showed a small scaled pacu he caught while on a night fishing jaunt with son Cale Diovan at Burnham Lake last Dec. 8.
    Encarnacion said his catch measured almost 0.5 meter in length and weighed approximately 3-4 kg.
    The fish was immediately released back to the lake after documentation.
    It brought excitement to fellow anglers as a catch of such species and size comes rarely at the lake where recreational fishing is still relatively new.
    On August 11 this year, a giant catfish was caught by angler Dino Pascual.
     It measured 33 inches and weighed 3.94 kilos.
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After years of negotiations, the city government finally scored a major headway in its bid to acquire the lot occupied by the Baguio Sewerage Treatment Plant at North Sanitary Camp barangay.
    Last Dec. 9, 2022, the city represented by Mayor Benjamin Magalong entered into a memorandum of agreement with the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation (PSALM) under President and Chief Executive Officer Dennis Dela Serna last Dec. 9, 2022 for the purchase of PSALM’s property where the STP has been housed and operating since the 1980s.
    PSALM said the property is composed of ten lots and has a total land area of 6,332 square meters and is valued at P36,046,003.80.
    City Budget Officer Leticia Clemente said, "Negotiations for the purchase of the property had been going on for years and  finally, it is moving forward."
    The mayor, in October 2019, served  the city's intention to buy the property to PSALM jumpstarting undertakings that led to the purchase accord.
    In 2021, the city council approved Resolution No. 474-2021 authorizing the mayor to enter into a deed of transfer and conveyance on the lot.

The city government had been working to take full possession of the property to facilitate funding support for the rehabilitation and upgrading of the city’s ageing STP to increase its capacity to adequately and effectively treat wastewater and prevent pollution of the Balili River.
    At present, the 40-year old STP has been operating beyond its daily capacity of 8,600 cubic treating at least 12,000 cubic meters of waste water daily.