Baguio, Benguet mayors push area growth plan
>> Tuesday, August 20, 2013
By Aileen P. Refuerzo
BAGUIO CITY – Cooperation among
Baguio and Benguet town mayors is being enhanced among the city and provinces
included in the Baguio-La Trinidad-Itogon-Sablan-Tuba-Tublay (BLISTT)
development concept.
Baguio Mayor Mauricio Domogan
bared this citing collaboration between Baguio and La Trinidad in tackling
their mutual waste problem which he said is an offshoot of efforts to revive
the BLISTT development concept, mapped out almost 20 years ago.
He expressed hope that more
cooperation will emanate from said efforts as the city and Benguet towns pursue
the development framework.
“I hope those days when negative
attitudes persist are gone now because it is not true that only the city of
Baguio will benefit from the BLISTT cooperation. Of course, the city
will have gains out of this but other municipalities will also mutually reap
benefits as much as the city,” the mayor said.
Domogan earlier lauded La
Trinidad mayor Edna Tabanda and other officials for helping the city in its
time of need which he said is a symbol of cooperation which embodies the true
spirit of the BLISTT concept.
Domogan attended the recent first
development council convened by the Regional Development Council Cordillera
(RDC-CAR)and hosted by the city at the Baguio Country Club with mayors Tabanda,
VictorioPalangdan of Itogon, Arthur Baldo of Sablan, Florencio Bentrez of Tuba
and Ruben Paoad of Tublay.
The meeting was also attended by
RDC-CAR Vice Chairperson and National Economic Development Authority CAR
Director Milagros Rimando, Dept of Interior and Local Government CAR Director
John Castañeda, DILG Benguet Provincial Director Rufina Fegcan, DILG Baguio
City Director Evelyn Trinidad and Environment Management Bureau-Dept. of
Environment and Natural Resources CAR Director Oscar Cabanayan.
The mayor said the discussions
centered on the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) signed in July 2012 which charts
the BLISTT heads’ roles in the implementation of the development framework
which aims to make the BLISTT a “model regional growth center.”
The mayor said the MOA will be
subject to consultations with the BLISTT’s legislators and public and private
organizations to gather inputs on the avenues of cooperation that the BLISTT
may pursue.
According to Shah Balaw-ing of
the RDC-CAR, the development council also agreed to involve line agencies to
beef up its technical capabilities.
“It was agreed that the BLISTT
mayors will comprise a governing body which will approve the recommendations of
the BLISTT Development Council. The specific functions of the governing council
and its relationship to the rest of the BLISTT structure shall be determined in
the next council meeting,” Balaw-ing said.
“The members are encouraged to
study the MOA and make proposals on further cooperation. It is expected that
before the end of the year, more consultations shall had been conducted to
generate comments and issues that must be addressed and lead to a commitment
for a BLISTT re-planning.”
Domogan said the BLISTT
development council will hold its next meeting August 23 with La Trinidad as
host.
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