Pangasinan villagers give go-signal to golf course

LINGAYEN, Pangasinan—Residents of four coastal villages here have given the provincial government the go-signal to start construction of an 18-hole golf course in their villages.

The Lingayen golf course project was suspended in January by the Environmental Management Bureau for lack of an environmental compliance certificate (ECC).

The golf course spans 38 hectares and will cover the coastal villages of Sabangan, Estanza, Malimpuec and Capandanan here.

Five hundred residents of these villages voted in favor of proceeding with the golf course at a public consultation in Guesang Elementary School here, which was the last of a series of meetings started in March to fulfill the prerequisites for obtaining an ECC.

Sabangan village chief Hector Fabiana said there were people who opposed the project, which was supported by Gov. Amado Espino, but he described them as “a handful.” He said their concerns had been adequately explained at the forums.

“They were opposing the project because they were fed wrong information about it. But now, it’s very clear to them, especially the benefits that our barangay will get from it,” Fabiana said.

Residents have feared that their water supply would be depleted once the golf course operates. A golf course needs a steady supply of water for its fairways, tees and greens.

But an environmental impact assessment (EIA) study conducted by the Ajanta Consultancy and Technical Services Inc. (Actsi) said the golf course would require only about 1,000 cubic meters of water a day.

Gregorio Palis, Actsi president, said three lagoons, which can store 30,500 cubic meters of water, would be built to meet the water demand of the golf course.

Cesar Siador Jr., chief of EMB’s EIA management division, said the dialogue would serve as reference when the agency deliberates on the golf course’s ECC application.

He welcomed the “outpouring of support” for the project from residents and officials of the four villages. “This is a manifestation of the people’s acceptance of the project,” he said.

The golf course, which is estimated to cost P202.2 million, is part of an ecotourism zone proclaimed by President Fidel Ramos in 1997. Gabriel Cardinoza, Inquirer Northern Luzon