ARAYAT - Mayor-elect Emmanuel Bonifacio Alejandrino divulged that President Benigno Aquino III pledged
P1-billion as support to the rehabilitation effort of Mt. Arayat National Park in Barangay San Juan Baño here.
He
said that in a previous meeting with Aquino, the latter assured them
that the national government will be helping the concerned local
government unit in its attempt to save and bring back the old glory of
the national park.
"Hopefully
yung ipanangako ni President Aquino na tulong sa Mt. Arayat National
Park ay dumating para maayos natin ito sa darating na panahon,"
Alejnadrino said.
The
new mayor opined that with the full support of the people in Arayat
and other groups advocating conservation and protection to environment,
the park could still be made as a top tourist destination in the
province.
"Mag
share ang munisipyo, tapos kung ang kapitolyo wala naman sigurong
masama kung magtutulong tulong para ibalik ang dating sigla ng ating
bundok," he added.
It
can be noted that the provincial government expressed its desire to get
the management of the park so that the necessary rehabilitation efforts
and other improvement could be easily decided.
Governor Lilia Pineda claimed that Mt.Arayat National Park remained to the primary landmark of the province.
With this, she stated rehabilitation needs to be undertaken for the benefit of all the Kapampangan.
It was learned that the management of the park used to be
under the local government of
Arayat after the local government and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) agreed to turn over its
operations to the Department of Tourism-Philippine Tourism Authority
(DOT-PTA) in 2000, pursuant to the provisions of Republic Act 7690
declaring Arayat National park as a tourist spot.
However, DOT-PTA subsequently
requested the Protected Management Board (PMB) to take over the
operations of the 10-hectare resort.
This was aimed at ensuring its continuing development under Republic
Act 7586, otherwise known as the National Integrated Protected Areas
System but failed.
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