HOUSE Bill (HB) 124 has hurdled on second reading and is set to be approved on third and final reading next in the House of Representatives.
HB 124 seeks to declare the Pasonanca watershed forest reserve in this city as a protected area under the category of natural park and its peripheral areas as buffer zones providing for its management, and for other purposes.
First district Representative Celso Lobregat, author of HB 124, said the proposed law hurdled the second reading following the strong manifestation of support from majority of the members in the House of Representatives.
Lobregat, who refiled HB 124 on January 18 this year, said the measure has obtained positive impression from majority of the House members after it passed thorough review in the Committee on Natural Resources.
The bill, also known as the Pasonanca watershed bill, was previously filed by former Representative Erico Basilio Fabian in the 14th and 15th Congress and by former Representative Lilia Nuño in the 16th Congress.
Lobregat said he refiled the bill earlier this year due to its importance and for the benefit of the residents of this city.
He said there is a greater opportunity that the Pasonanca watershed bill will become a law because it pertains to protecting the environment, which is beneficial to all.
LPGMA Party-list Representative Arnel Ty, House committee chairperson on natural resources, has seen the significance and vitality of the H.B. 124 since its approval into a law will contribute to the preservation of the one of the seven remaining intact and vegetated watersheds in the country.
Lobregat said it is necessary to preserve the watershed in order to protect this city’s water source not only for the present generation but also for the future residents of this city.
