HOUSES in Barangay (village) Dinadiawan, Dipaculao town, Aurora province, were toppled by Typhoon “Labuyo” in August last year. RAFFY LERMA
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO—The government has not heeded demands to close the Aurora Pacific Economic Zone and Freeport (Apeco) in northern Aurora province, giving it at least P48.5 million in the P2.264-trillion budget this year, the Task Force Anti-Apeco (TFAA) said.
“Our call was for a zero budget because the residents [of Casiguran town] have not felt [Apeco’s] supposed progress,” Fr. Joefran Talaban, the town’s parish priest and TFAA convenor, told the Inquirer on Sunday.
Typhoons destroyed Apeco’s projects in seaweed growing, fish cage construction and bamboo planting last year, he said.
“The national government should use the P48.5 million as aid to farmers, fishermen and indigenous peoples in Casiguran,” Talaban said.
The national government had spent P905 million on Apeco since 2008, the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) said. Anakpawis Rep. Fernando Hicap said the budget support amounted to P2 billion since 2007.
The reduction of the budget, proposed at P76 million solely for general administration and support, came even as the Neda advised the national government to “continue to support the completion of the necessary structures and facilities of Apeco.”
These include roads, power and water supply, drainage, solid waste management and housing, the Neda said in the executive summary of an economic review of Apeco.
President Aquino ordered the review after meeting leaders of Dumagat and Agta, farmers and fishermen of Casiguran who marched for almost 400 kilometers in November 2012 to press their demands in defense of ancestral domains, farm and fishing grounds.
Apeco officials could not be reached for comment since Sunday. Malcolm Sarmiento, Apeco president and chief executive officer, resigned in October.
The Neda said the “general feeling of local government stakeholders is that [Apeco] can potentially bring development to their area.”
Sen. Juan Edgardo Angara, one of the chief proponents of Apeco, said the budget reduction should not have happened this year.
“Unfortunately, northern Aurora, which has not yet fully recovered from Typhoon ‘Labuyo’s’ damage [since August last year], has to deal with the reduced budget,” he said.
“Without adequate infrastructure, the economic prospects for investment and trade, and consequently employment in northern Aurora and parts of Cagayan are limited. This is truly unfortunate given the potential, which remains to be unlocked for the area,” he said.
Aurora Gov. Gerardo Noveras, who sits in the Apeco board as provincial government representative, said the budget cut could be seen as a good development to groups opposing Apeco.
“But I think [the budget is] not even enough for the restoration of the damage brought by Typhoon Labuyo,” Noveras said a text message sent to the Inquirer.
A few weeks before the signing of the national budget, TFAA received reports that the Apeco budget was slashed to P21 million by the Senate subcommittee on finance. TFAA said it did not know how it ended up receiving P48.5 million.
The Neda found out that Apeco did not have an updated master plan and a land use plan.
“By way of drawing lessons from this assessment, future investment decisions of the government, especially of similar scale, should be supported by an in-depth feasibility study that does not only articulate the economic viability but also the stakeholders’ ownership of the project,” it said.
The Supreme Court has yet to decide on the petition of the fisherfolk alliance Pamalakaya and militant groups in October 2011 to declare the laws creating Apeco unconstitutional. Tonette Orejas, Inquirer Central Luzon