By
Jun Enriquez
Linamon,
Lanao del Norte – Mindanao was dubbed as the land of promise, until the present
time still dreaming on it as a vision. As part of it you will notice
Linamon, the smallest town of Lanao del Norte with the co-existence of good
relations among the Christians majority, Muslims and the Lumads, can be found
as far as 100 kilometers west of Cagayan de Oro City. It is composed only of 8
Barangays situated in a 2,000-hectare land area. Its Local officials,
especially the Sangguniang Bayan (Municipal Council) has conducted a planning
workshop by the committee of the whole to review some existing policies,
ordinances since the 1990s to attune the changing times as its priority
legislative agenda. Linamon has an ongoing development of the Tinago falls
managed by the local government to keep its nature intact. A continuing solid
waste management (SWM) program and implementation of garbage disposal from the
household is strictly observed. This SWM program had help so much in the tourism
promotion in the maintenance of clean environment. Linamon beaches facing the
Iligan Bay is one of the tourist attractions of the province. The local
government of Linamon also improved the traffic congestion along the National
Highway for public safety.
Municipal
Councilor and Statesman Rene “Atoy” Pestolante, Chairman of the committee on
rules and good governance, also a labor leader and a businessman, has a lot of
experienced in his studies abroad about governance from other countries
especially in Germany. Councilor Pestolante also a “Federalista”, is a member of
Partido Demokratikong Pilipino (PDP)–LABAN, the political party of Philippine President Duterte, an advocate on Federalism pushing for federalism in the country. He said there is a need to change the structure
of the government to give political and economic justice for the Filipino
people especially in Mindanao. Councilor Pestolante said that the small land
area of Linamon is now planned to maximize land utilization and if possible
private spaces will be expropriated to respond the needed development in the
town such as expansion of public market, public terminal, public cemetery,
among others.
Linamon
Councilor Pestolante said he sponsored a resolution in the Council to cater
directly the problem of the people in the Barangays of Linamon. He said a
resolution was approved to conduct a joint session with the SB of Linamon and a
Barangay council every month. He said there are three Barangay councils expressed
their intention to have a joint session on the first Monday of September and it
will be the first joint session after the resolution was approved. The Linamon SB session is held
every Monday of the week and the joint session is scheduled every first Monday of
the month. Councilor Pestolante was then a Vice Mayor in Linamon for two terms
said that the SB during his stint was already implemented the joint session but
was stopped when he was no longer in the position for unknown reasons. The
Local government of Linamon aims to have an industrial zone in every Barangay
to have equal opportunity for economic
development.
4th from left, Councilor Pestolante with the CSO leaders |
Councilor
Pestolante said that Linamon is assured in terms of peace and order, the
project “tokhang” of the police still going on to cater people especially the
drug dependents, the program counterpart of the local government under the administration
of Mayor Randy Macapil called reformatory program is to recover themselves from
the menace of the drug impact to health and domestic economy. Councilor
Pestolante said that they are calling the civil society groups to accredit in
Linamon council to help the local government in its efforts for peace and
development. Before he was elected into public office in 2016 elections, he was the co-chairman of the Bottom-up-Budgeting (BUB) representing the civil society organizations (CSOs) in Linamon. Councilor Pestolante further informed that the local government of
Linamon will avail a two million-peso project for Mobile corn mill from the
Payapa at Masaganang Pamayanan (PAMANA) program of the Office of the
Presidential Adviser of the Peace Process (OPAPP) intended for the
rehabilitation of the conflict affected areas in the country.
Linamon
has the existing land space to at least 80 hectares intended for the Metro
Iligan Agro-Industrial Center (MIRAIC). This land was owned by the National
government for the establishment of a domestic airport but was stopped for
safety reasons and was converted into a MIRAIC a good potential for economic
development since the Ramos administration in the 1990s.
Linamon
is the center of economy in the eastern part of Lanao del Norte, and the
traffic will congest every market days, Saturdays and Sundays. Lanao del Norte
is a food basket rich in fresh marine and agriculture products coming from
other places in the province will be sold in Linamon public market at very low
prices affordable for the poor.
People
in the market place of Linamon apprehensive on the impact of the GN Power in
Kauswagan, Lanao del Norte in terms of its pollution to diminish the
potentialities of the marine and agriculture products in the province. The GN
power will produce 540 megawatts of electricity allegedly to be supplied to
Luzon and Visayas. Potential environmental damage will be experienced in land,
air and water, and the most potential sector of the environment to suffer are
the people in the province of Lanao del Norte and nearby places, especially on
health issues. Air Pollution will reach the potential places through a radius
of at least 40 kilometers. The most damaging pollutants in water is the
hydrocarbons because of its toxicity that will damaged the corals and fish
sanctuaries. The Iligan Bay will suffer the direct impact of the rise of water
temperature that will potentially get damaged the marine environment in the bay
including the Panguil Bay. Carbon emissions will affect the air and land areas
bringing other toxic substances that will get damaged the agriculture
production. This will greatly affect the livelihood of the farmers and
fisher-folks in the province of Lanao del Norte and nearby places including
businesses related to agriculture as a food basket of the country. If this will
happen the people in these areas will suffer hunger, illnesses and poverty, and
crime incidence will increase due to economic survival because people will
commit crime just to survive. (the blogger, Jun Enriquez, is also a broadcast & peace journalist based in Iligan City)
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