Town bans ownership of land, farming near water sources

In support of World Water Day over the weekend, the town of Bauko passed a radical municipal ordinance forbidding the cultivation and ownership of land within 100 meters of identified water sources.

The ordinance "prohibits any individual to claim ownership of any legal document and/or cultivate any portion of land within 100 meter radius of all sources of domestic water supply."

The passage of the ordinance came after the town received reports of contamination of drinking water from pesticides and fertilizers from commercial farmlands.

The delimited area shall fall under the responsibility of the barangay to reforest these areas with any suitable variety.

As the amendment to the Municipal Ordinance 004-C said, any tax declaration or other legal documents within these "delimited areas" would be recommended for cancellation after an agreement between the claimants and the barangay unit was forged positively.

If both parties agree, they submit the result to the municipal assessor for recommendation to the province.

Violation of the ordinance means a fine of P2,000 or imprisonment of 30 days or both upon court discretion.

Meanwhile, the whole province is set to double its "Million Tree Program" started in 2004. Mountain Province residents already planted 1,758,811 trees of various species since four years ago.