By Dominic B. dela Cruz
Staff reporter
Batac City—Vice mayor Jeffrey Jubal Nalupta disclosed that the provincial government has conveyed the possible development of the 12-hectare Billoca fish farm located along the national highway.
On September 5, Atty. Yvette Leynes of the provincial legal office personally talked with members of the Sangguniang Panlungsod here regarding the development of the said fish farm.
In the said meeting, Ms. Leynes said the provincial government needs a waiver from the city government here so they could look for prospective investors for the fish farm’s development.
During the discussion, various ideas were presented and the vice mayor stressed the need to protect the interest of the Batac and its people.
Mr. Nalupta related that they presented options to Ms. Leynes on top of the provincial government solely developing the fish farm. He said they told the provincial official that Batac can also raise funds for the farm’s development.
In view of this, he said they broached the possibility of a joint project between the two local government units for the development instead of looking for “outside” investors.
Mr. Nalupta also revealed that when he was still the Batac mayor, he has applied for the titling of the said land. He added that the Batac city assessor’s office records show that as early as 1949, the tax declaration for the said land was already in the name of the Batac government.
But when he applied for the formal titling, the provincial government protested. He further stressed that his application for titling then was authorized by the Batac council.
He went on to state that after many years, he talked to Ilocos Norte governor Ma. Imelda Josefa “Imee” R. Marcos about the possibility of sharing the land between the Ilocos Norte and Batac governments. He divulged that both of them agreed to this.
This however was shelved after the Dept. of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) issued an order with finality that the lot in question is not owned by both local governments. The said order further clarified that once the land is considered a lake, it is owned by the state, or the national government.
Mr. Nalupta however disputed this ruling. He insisted that the Billoca fish farm is man-made lake and not natural lake.
“Ta no saan met a panagtotodo ket awan met danum na ngem no agtudo agbalin nga impounding. Arig na ngaimpounding la siguro daytoy gapu ta iti likod na ket bantay wennu arig na kasla SWIP,” Mr. Nalupta explained.
This also forced the Batac government to seek the help of the Bureau of Soils and Water Management (BSWM) to determine if the fish farm is a natural lake or not.
In the absence of the BSWM opinion, however, exploratory talks between the Ilocos Norte and Batac governments have restarted.
“Ta ngamin no waiver medyo delikadon sa dayta. We cannot just do that nga awan iti refinements na wennu awan better options to do that. Ket iti proposal mi ket why not just do it as joint development and there will be no problem in as far as the city government of Batac is concern,” Mr. Nalupta noted.
Mr. Nalupta also narrated more history of the fish farm. He said that originally, the said property was under the administration of the then Batac municipal government as claimant or registered owner based on the tax declaration.
But after the enactment of the Local Government Code of 1992, the property was turned over to the provincial government. The LGC states that fish farms should be administered by provincial governments.
Mr. Nalupta however pointed out that the turnover did not include ownership as there was no deed of donation, a deed if usufruct, or a deed of sale between the provincial and city governments.
The fish farm is presently used for fingerlings production intended for the entire province.