*Comprehensive Land Use Plan*
Executive Summary
From The Desk Of The Mayor
I convey my heartfelt gratitude to all those who lend their hands for the gigantic effort in the coming up of this ‘Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP)’ for the municipality of Piat, Cagayan. This document will serve as the major instrument of the municipality in its desire to bring peace, progress and prosperity to all individuals in the community for the next five-year period. I take pride in sharing with my constituents the development that this plan will bring to our municipality. Advancing through the next generation, peculiar set of challenges, problems and circumstances that we had jointly faced will again be there in the struggle to fight poverty and to feed our growing population while our natural resources diminish if not properly taken care of. The demand is to inject able leadership that will appropriately utilize our resources, improve delivery of basic services, and put the welfare of our fellow Filipinos at the forefront of governance. And development, as a vehicle towards progress and prosperity, has to be sustained and must be sustainable so that we can go on providing quality life for all, a caring capacity of individuals and the community. This administration, therefore, firmly resolves to pursue more vigorously the national government thrust to work continuously for total development, progress and prosperity. It will embark on projects and activities designed in the short term as well as in the long term for the upliftment of the masses. It will undertake some bold measures to improve the three services associated with development so as not to be outdone by the progress achieved by the other municipalities. The three services are as follows: economic services, social services, and general public services. As was done in the past, activities such as: the celebration of Independence Day and the sponsorship of a summer festival, which consists of sports, choral and beauty contest will again be undertaken. Foremost of all these activities, however will be the Sambali Festival during the festival season of our Lady of Piat, which has become and integral part on the calendar of activities of the Department of Tourism.
Piat is undoubtedly the premier tourist spot of the region because of the presence of the miraculous image of Our Lady of Piat, but Piat is also envisioned to be known of something else. It will be developed in such a way that the slopes on all sides of the town proper will be terraced and planted with ornamental trees and flowering plants. Its streets will be lighted, drainage system will be installed, and Hostel/Lodging house will be constructed. Certainly, with the completion of the Multi-Purpose Gymnasium, Piat will also become a center of athletic activities not only catering to the people of Piat but even to the people as far as Isabela and Nueva Vizcaya. Aside from these, Children Park and playground will be put up. On development programs, the focus shall be on setting up livelihood projects under the auspices of different reputable national and international agencies who are expected to provide technical assistance and funding. These will complement future plans to construct component infrastructures, form cooperatives and restore productive activities in the different sectors in the community. The municipal government plans to undertake the following programs in coordination with the different supporting agencies in non-formal education: sending of barangay officials and residence to community service training and some of its on municipal officials and employees to seminar workshops for upgrading. As to Health and Nutrition, The Sub-Task Force on Nutrition is made to intensify its nutrition drive and services. This has to be undertaken to minimize the morbidity and mortality rates and primarily caused by malnutrition. Success can be achieved with the joint working efforts of the local, national and different assisting agencies assigned in the municipality. Food assistance, nutrition, information and education, health protection and food production are the four intervention schemes to be adopted to improved the nutritional status of the vulnerable groups composed of infants, pre-schoolers, pregnant and nursing mothers and school children. A new future in health delivery service will be the extension of assistance to indigent patients in terms of medicines, doctor’s fees and accommodation. It is motivated by the saying: “No patient shall ever be refused medical attention by reason of poverty.” In the case of Agriculture, intensification of production in all agricultural components such as livestock and poultry, rice and corn, sugar cane, tobacco, vegetable and fruit trees is the present thrust. Strategic developmental goal is to maximize productivity in terms of existing hectares and utilization of idle but arable lands. But this thrust can only achieve success and greater impact if the national government intensifies it support in making available at affordable price high yielding variety seeds, fertilizers and chemicals; if it embarks in the construction and expansion of irrigation facilities, farm to market roads, provides technological expertise in multiple cropping: fish and poultry farming and provides other supportive services through financial institutions, cooperative organizations, marketing and distribution system.
Honest and dedicated public service in its broadest sense will be stressed. The present administration having been given the privilege to serve the municipality is committed to do its best to bring the government closer to the people and the people closer to the government. This objective can only be attained however if there is enough fund support from the national government, as well as the loyal support of the zealous dedication of all officials and employees of the national and local government. There is so much to be done for our people, especially for the less fortunate in our society. Poverty stalks the land. The challenge of the present and future generations, like global competitiveness and democracy, are becoming more pronounced. Providing for the minimum basic needs to improve the quality of life for our people is therefore the bottom line. This includes, among other things, strong family values, and consensus in decision making and supremacy of the community over the individual. Translated in more tangible terms, it simply means a re-orientation of our present erroneous beliefs to make them more relevant and more adaptable to present social conditions. And, together we could always overcome these obstacles, we can win the fight. If we put our efforts together to work towards a common goal, we cannot fail. We will triumph. I therefore urge every Piateños to hold on, to keep strong the principles of local autonomy, and to sensibly exercise its authority for the achievement of the national goal and bring us closer to the Filipino vision of countrywide sustainable development.
