SAN FERNANDO CITY, La Union – The neighboring provinces of La Union and Ilocos Sur ended Thursday afternoon their century-old boundary dispute after officials of both provinces signed the ‘memorandum of agreement’ (MOA) for the settlement at the provincial capitol here.
Officials of the two provinces agreed with the establishment of a borderline along the Amburayan River which permanently divide the towns of Sudipen, La Union and Tagudin, Ilocos Sur.
The boundary line along the River was established by a composite team chaired by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
“The technical description of the DENR together with the proposed map in relation to the boundary lines along the River in Tagudin and Sudipen are hereby accepted and adopted by the parties as the true and correct boundary lines in the two municipalities,” reads part of the agreement.
“This is a win-win solution to solve our long time boundary dispute. It’s (agreement) for economic gains for both of us and to avoid the long process in court,” said Gov. Ryan Singson who headed his province’s delegation for the signing.
Aside from Singson, those who signed the MOA are La Union Gov. Manuel Ortega, Mayor Jose Bonuan of Tagudin, Mayor Wendy Joy Buquing of Sudipen, and Paquito Moreno, DENR regional executive director.
“We are glad that the dispute has been resolved. We have no more problem with regards to quarrying and fishing. We already know our boundaries,” Buquing said.
Buquing said there are no residents affected in the area with regards to the voting aspect.
By Dexter A. See