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Santa residents assert protection of their natural environment and resources

Saturday, October 22, 2011

Santa residents assert protection of their natural environment and resources

 By JOAN GARCIA
Bulatlat.com
ILOCOS SUR – 386 kilometers north of Manila, the town of Santa, Ilocos Sur boasts of being in the center of the Ilocos Range, Abra River and the China Sea.

If one is traveling from Manila to Vigan, there is no shortage of eye candy when passing through Santa: the green mountains on the right and clear blue waters on the left immediately calms the mind and makes the long journey worth it.

Home to around 14,000 people, most of its residents derive their livelihood from the sea. Santa is one of the towns wherein ipon (gobiidae) can be caught.


The aerial view of the island barangay of Oribi taken last Sept 15, 2009. The red line shows the original land area.(Photo courtesy by Google files / bulatlat.com)
Ipon is a tiny specie of fish that can only be found in certain coastal areas of Northern Luzon. It can sell for as much as P300-P400 ($6.95 – $9.30) per kilogram during the first release and is a favourite buy for Filipinos living in Hawaii.

However, no matter how rich its sea is, when typhoons hit the Philippines, Santa is one of the towns that is most affected.

High risk during natural calamities
A total of 2,390 families with 11,950 individuals were affected during Typhoon Pepeng last October 2009. Seventy six houses were damaged and livestock loss amounted to P 578,800 ($13,460) while the damage to crops amounted to P 10,507,100 ($244,000).

Only recently, an alarm signal 3 was raised when Typhoon Pedring hit Ilocos Sur. Although no heavy rains were felt in Santa, the typhoon caused a storm surge that affected the coastal barangays: 294 families with 1470 individuals were affected with 23 totally damaged houses and four partially damaged..... MORE

SourceBulatlat.com

URL: http://bulatlat.com/main/2011/10/11/santa-residents-assert-protection-of-their-natural-environment-and-resources/

1 comment

Jesusa Bernardo said...

"During the open forum, Mayor Bueno asked the MGB why it keeps on accepting the mining applications knowing full well that Santa is at a high risk of landslide and flooding. To this, the MGB Supervising Geologist Vilma Vecino replied that the minerals found in their area would only be wasted if it is not mined.

"Vecino also claimed that the exploration is different from mining per se. To this, STARM representative Sherwin de Vera explained that, in truth, the same process is required for the exploration and mining of minerals. Therefore, based on this process, the exploration for minerals can already be considered as mining."

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