This story was taken from Bulatlat, the Philippines's alternative weekly newsmagazine (www.bulatlat.com, www.bulatlat.net, www.bulatlat.org).
Vol. V, No. 11, April 24-30, 2005

Villagers Oppose Multimillion Fish Plant

The Dagupan City government sees more importance in the export potential of bangus (milkfish) than the welfare of poor residents. Not surprisingly, residents have resorted to blocking the local government from entering the area where the fish plant project is being built.

By JHONG DELA CRUZ
Bulatlat

DAGUPAN CITY – Every possible entry to the Sitio (sub-village) Bagong Barrio, Barangay Gueset in this city is currently guarded by villagers, aimed at preventing the city government from entering the 10.7 hectare sub-village where a fish plant project – backed by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo - is being built.

The city government is eyeing the Bagong Barrio Redevelopment Project as an industrial-tourism complex for the Bangus (milkfish) Processing Plant. The project which costs P150 million ($2.77 million, based on an exchange rate of P54.17 per US dollar) consists of a nature park, boat port, trading center and vehicle terminal. President Macapagal-Arroyo earmarked P50 million ($923,020.12) for this project.

Lot contested

Joan Mackay, chair of the local chapter of the women’s group Gabriela, said her group along with ally Kalipunan ng Damayang Mahihirap (Kadamay or alliance of urban poor groups), has an ongoing dialogue with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). Mackay’s group maintains that part of the area be awarded to them for residential use. DENR awarded the lot to the city government last year.

In a technical report, Community Environment and Natural Resources (CENRO) officer Roger Pimentel said that a 4.5-hectare area is being conserved as the Urban Forestry project established in the 1980s. The forested area, serving as buffer zone, will be converted to a nature park in the fish plant facility.

Dislocation

The contested land, located at the mouth of Pantal River, is home to informal settlers since the 1970s. Villagers said the early settlers developed the area which used to have silt deposits.

Mackay said the city government refused to relocate the 290 families saying that are rent-owners.

Rudy Fernandez, special project assistant, said that to fast track the project, Mayor Benjie Lim has allotted P1.2 million to build 40 housing units in the Bangusville Relocation site.

‘Big fishes’

Lim stressed that the 4,500-sq. m. fish facility, capitalizing on the world-famous Bonuan bangus, will generate foreign earnings and create jobs for the residents. According to him, by-products like frozen-deboned, marinated-deboned, smoked-deboned, and canned-deboned will be exported.

But Mackay said that only the “big fishes,” consisting of huge investors led by the mayor will benefit from project. She maintained that the fishing village provided the villagers with livelihood while the project promises false job security as the city government offered contractual labor.

She said the impending eviction is only part of a wide-scale urban poor dislocation to make way for various development projects intended to develop Dagupan as an industrial and tourism center. Bulatlat

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