TABUK CITY, Kalinga – The clearing of remaining structures and other debris at the Bulanao Public Market is on full-blast starting July 26, and set to be completed this week to give way to the construction of a modern public market.
The PNP, SAF, Philippine Army, BFP, Barangay Bulanao officials, City Legal Office, Motorpool, POSO, CBAO, and CDRRMO make up the clearing operations team. KAELCO and Tabuk Water also provided assistance, and the CPIO documented the incident.
Some of the structures dismantled were stalls and houses that were earlier vacated by their owners; however, some stall owners initially refused to vacate their stalls and requested more time to remove their goods and equipment, but they eventually agreed to the clearing after Punong Barangay Cosme Gunnawa explained that they had been given multiple opportunities to vacate their stalls and could not be given “special treatment” that was not extended to other stall owners who had earlier vacated their structures.
Bulanao Centro hired carpenters to assist the affected individuals to salvage materials from their structures with assistance from KAELCO and Tabuk Water to ensure the safety of the clearing team, the barangay government also offered to transport their goods, equipment, and other fixtures using the barangay and city vehicles.
According to Mayor Darwin C. Estrañero, the new public market will improve the city’s locally-generated revenue for socioeconomic project funding, as well as bring in much-needed investment and employment. He said that with more businesses coming into the city, the city will be less dependent on the National Tax Allotment which may increase or decrease based on how well the national economy is doing.
By PIO Tabuk City