Angeles City — In line with his pursuit to protect the city environment, Mayor Carmelo “Pogi” Lazatin Jr. in his latest State of the City Address (SOCA) on Thursday, June 29, 2023, said his administration will partner with Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) to permit the city government to manage the watershed in Barangay Sapangbato.
“Now that that the new leadership of BCDA is our Cabalen, we will ask President Joshua Bingcang to award the stewardship of the 560-hectare watershed in Barangay Sapangbato to the Angeles City Government, to which the agency earlier agreed in principle,” Mayor Lazatin remarked.
To date, about 72,000 mixed seedlings were planted by the city government during the June to December planting activities in cooperation with the Abacan River and Angeles Watershed – Advocacy Council Inc. (ARAW) headed by businessman Renato “Abong” Tayag.
Meanwhile, the Lazatin administration will also embark on the use of renewable energy by converting its streetlights into solar-powered lamps as supplement to the environmental management efforts of the city government in 2024.
Government offices within Angeles City are anticipated to be also using solar-generated electricity by that time as Angeleños will be encouraged to save not only Angeles City from the effects of climate change, but the entire planet.
“We still have a long way to go. The horizon is still far for us to reach in securing the best quality of service for all Angeleños,” Lazatin said.