Small town Linamon faces challenges towards development

By Jun Enriquez

 

The Tinago falls of Linamon, Lanao del Norte

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.

 

At center with paper, Municipal Councilor Rene Pestolante

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.

 

2nd from right, Councilor Pestolante on Agridev (BUB) project 

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)