Deputy Speaker Erin Tañada (left) with Pampanga-based Lawyers Gener Endona and Miguelito Pama.
Photo by Ric Gonzales
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO — Deputy Speaker and Quezon Rep. Lorenzo “Erin” Tañada has stressed the need for a land use plan to solve perennial flooding in the country, including Central Luzon.
Tañada of the administration’s Liberal Party (LP) said in a recent interview here that a land use plan should be drafted and approved “on the national level” to drastically limit the effects of floods in prone areas, including Pampanga, Bataan, Zambales, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija and Tarlac.
Strong and continuous rains since last week inundated at least 154 barangays in Pampanga’s 11 towns, said the Provincial Information Office (PIO) last week.
Tañada said that if given the chance to serve as senator, he will push for the immediate preparation, approval and implementation of a national land use plan.
The three-term congressman is one of the aspirants being considered for the LP senatorial line-up.
Tañada, however, stressed that “political will” is needed on the local level for the success of such plan as it will serve as the basis for Local Government Units (LGUs) in implementing their respective land use plans.
“They put up a subdivision in an area not suitable for it. They destroy agricultural farms for industrial development when it should not be done,” he said.
Tañada was interviewed in nearby Angeles City after attending a forum on his Freedom of Information Bill sponsored by Balibago Barangay Captain Rodelio Mamac, also of the LP.
Land use planning encompasses various disciplines and contains expert studies which seek to order and regulate land use in an efficient and ethical way, it was learned.
