Binay cites role of LGUs in progress, environment

By Dexter See

BAUKO, Mountain Province  – The progress of a nation will not hold through without the progress of local governments and the preservation, protection and proper utilization of the country’s rich resources, thus, government agencies must extend support to expand development opportunities to less development local governments in the countryside, Vice President Jejomar C. Binay said here last week.

Binay, who was the guest of honor and speaker during the 8th “Begnas di Bauko” and town fiesta, was adopted as a son of the municipality and was named “Masligan,”who is caring, hardworking and loves to serve his kinsmen with joy regardless of their life condition."

“The nucleus of development in our country will be the progress of local governments but the growth of a certain locality must not compromise the state of the environment which defined the living condition of the people through the years,” Binay stressed.

The Vice President cited importance that Bauko and Mountain Province play in the power generation and the growth of the agriculture sector because it hosts a huge portion of the 5,000-hectare Mount Data National Park, which serves as the headwaters of four major river systems, the Chico, Agno, Magat and Abra rivers, providing abundant water supply for the 105-megawatt Ambuclao dam, the 125-megawatt Binga dam and the 345-megawatt San Roque dam, all along the Agno river and the 360 megawatt Magat dam along the Magat river as well as vast tracks of agricultural lands in the Ilocos, Cagayan Valley and some parts of Central Luzon.

Binay cited the ingenuity of Cordillerans in being able to preserve the state of the environment in their quest for growth had development as Mountain Province remains a favourite destination of well-known personalities in arts and culture because of the scenery and the rich culture and traditions that were passed on for generations.

Binay cited the exploitation, development and utilization of the country’s rich resources is totally not bad, provided, that those who develop and utilize such resources do such act with utmost responsibility and bring back to the host communities the benefits of development as well as give priority to the massive planting of trees to guarantee the vibrance of the sources of potable water for everyone.

He said the Office of the Vice President will consult the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to give priority to environmental protection projects that will guarantee significant increase in forested areas for benefit of generations of Filipinos.

According to him, abundant water supply plays a key role in sustaining the growth of the country’s agriculture sector in the lowland communities and the lifeblood of power generation plants, thus, more trees must be planted in order to regreen the barren mountains for the benefit of upcoming generations.

Gov. Leonard G. Mayaen lauded the commitment of Vice President Binay in the uphill climb to implement doable environmental preservation and protection projects, saying that national officials who have the same attitude of concern for the environment so that the present and future generations will be able to enjoy a holistic state of environment.