By ONAD MUNALEM
Bohol Sunday Post
Municipal honchos in Talibon recently got the approval of the people of barangays Bagacay and Tanghaligue for the plan to develop a special economic zone in the two villages.
Talibon Mayor Juanario Item told the barangayfolk during the consultative meeting on June 9 and 10 that Governor Erico Aumentado had given him and Councilor Gerson Dulang a task to scout for a conducive site for a special economic zone (SEZ) project.
Item and Dulang explained how the project will benefit them and solicited their approval to allow the government to buy their properties that will be utilized as the site of the project.
Among the benefits that the project offers are job opportunities, increased income and improvement in their standard of living, Dulang said.
Dulang further said that the project’s profile was already submitted to the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).
At present, many investors from China, Japan, Korea, Malaysia and India have shown interest to pour their capital in the Philippines, particularly in Bohol, according to Dulang.
The mayor, for his part, told them that he had already thought of the project during his first term as town executive, being included in his development agenda for Talibon.
“When you have a dream it remains a dream until coupled with action that it becomes a reality,†Item told the barangayfolk.
He explained that the project needs an initial land area of 50 hectares near the shoreline to be expanded towards the upper portion of the barangay.
The mayor told the affected residents that the project would help reduce poverty.
Among the development projects that came ahead are the public market and the construction of a commercial center where Alturas Supermarket stands that attracted consumers from neighboring towns, Item cited.
On the other hand, the mayor also announced that he would declare an area of 700 hectares as seed bank of seaweeds, in preparation for the planned processing plant for seaweeds.
Item also expressed pride that during his incumbency, he is the only mayor of Bohol who had come up with a Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP) which was later duplicated by town executives.
During the open forum portion of the consultative meeting, Item explained that the price of properties that the government will buy for the SEZ will be determined by a team tasked to do the assessment on their actual value.
He also assured that all qualified affected residents will be prioritized in the employment opportunities.
The mayor also explained that a resettlement program will be in place to take care of those who will be displaced.
After the forum, Barangay Councilor Desiderio Ludivise moved for the acceptance of the multi-million-peso project, seconded by Barangay Councilor Wilfredo Flores.
Linkback:
https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=13383.0
Topic: Special Economic Zone To Be Established In Talibon (Read 3864 times)