ITOGON, Benguet – The municipal government warned owners of stray animals in the municipality, especially along major roads, they will be fined or their animals will be confiscated if they will not confine them in their residences.
Mayor Victorio T. Palangdan said that the aggressive campaign against road obstruction and the proliferation of stray animals in the barangays is part of the efforts of the national government to clear all roads for the safety of the motorists and the commuting public.
He stated that owners of stray cows along the Benguet-Nueva Vizcaya Road should already make sure animals will not obstruct the smooth flow of traffic along the said road because barangay officials and law enforcers had been given the marching orders to compel the owners to comply.
The municipal chief executive claimed the animals caught will not be released to the owners if they will not pay the prescribed fine so that they will learn their lessons not to simply allow their animals to freely roam around as they pose a serious threat to the safety of motorists, particularly during the night where there is poor visibility during cloudy weather.
According to him, residents must take care of their pets and not cause unnecessary incidents that will pose a serious threat to the safety of the public.
Earlier, motorists regularly travelling along national roads have time and again complained of stray animals that obstruct the smooth flow of traffic and are said to be among the causes of vehicular traffic accidents over the past several months.
The municipal mayor pointed out that owners of stray animals should be considerate to the plight of most of the populace for the roads to be free from obstructions such as stray animals that impede the smooth flow of traffic as it is part of the marching orders of no less than the national government through Interior and Local government Secretary Eduardo Año.
Itogon is traversed by a portion of the Benguet-Nueva Vizcaya road where some of the stray animals loiter, especially during the night that is why drivers always observe the necessary safety precautions to prevent the occurrence of untoward incidents that will compromise the safety of life and limb when travelling in the said area.
He emphasized that the municipal government will have to be aggressive in the implementation of the government’s anti-road obstruction campaign because it is a presidential directive and it is geared toward promoting the common good of the populace who should have unhampered and uninterrupted travel to and from their places of origin.
Itogon is one of the first-class municipalities that rely on mining as its primary source of income for over a century now but efforts are now being aggressively pursued by the present administration to maximize the potentials of agriculture and tourism as the town’s major economic drives now that large-scale mining ceased operations and small-scale mining was also suspended after the wrath of previous natural calamities that resulted to the occurrence of a series of landslides that clamed the lives of hundreds of pocket miners. By Hent
