Legarda: Senate Commends Pandan in Antique for Conservation of Bugang River

Senator Loren Legarda announced today that the Senate has adopted Senate Resolution No. 766, commending the local government and community of Pandan in Antique for their active role in the conservation and preservation of the Bugang River.

Legarda, author of the Resolution and Chair of the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, said that the Municipality of Pandan, Antique deserves the commendation for successfully maintaining the status of the four-kilometer Bugang River as one of the cleanest inland bodies of water in the country, through the establishment of the Bugang Community-Based Eco-Tourism Organization.

Pandan Mayor Jonathan Tan personally received a copy of the Resolution during the Senate’s session on September 22, 2014.

“We congratulate the local government and the citizens of Pandan for showing how to balance public and private interests as displayed in the sustainable management of the island’s main water source which is the Bugang River,” Legarda said.

The Bugang River is considered as a Hall of Fame awardee in the government’s Cleanest Inland Body of Water contest and in the 2006 Green Environment Apple Awards for best practices in environmental management through the enforcement of regulations such as the prohibition of the construction of pig pens along its river system and swimming activity in its headspring.

“The local government of Pandan has shown that a community-based eco-tourism approach can be adopted by other municipalities and cities to ensure the sustainable use of natural resources,” said Legarda.