By BEHN FER. HORTALEZA, JR

THE illegal ‘beachfront lot for sale’ racket of a syndicate with alleged links to both Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and some yet unidentified city officials has again come to the fore following a strong exchange between Vice Mayor Alvin Fernandez and lawyer-educator-columnist Gonzalo T. Duque last week about the long festering reports of lot parceling and sale at Bonuan Binloc in the Tondaligan Park area.

Fernandez, in a clearly irked mood, decried allegations by Duque in his column in a local newspaper (not The Pangasinan Star) that “billions of pesos” have changed hands in the sale of lots at the Binloc area covered by Proclamation 98, the law that segregated 72 hectares of beachfront lot extending from Bonuan Gueset and on to Boquig and Binloc up to the Cayanga river.

Proclamation 98 was signed by President Diosdado Macapagal

Duque wrote in his column about a supposed “grand robbery” involving the sale of lots in what is now known as part of Tondaligan Park, hinting that some city government men were involved.

He also alleged and quoted Fernandez as saying the city was inclined to turn over Tondaligan Park to the DENR, hinting the move could be a ploy to cover up for the illegal activities involving the lots.

The vice mayor strongly denied this.

“What I explained to him was that the city has applied for a miscellaneous lease agreement (MLA) with DENR for the accreted land (in part of the Tondaligan) so that the city can have legal rights and be the legal possessor of the property,” Fernandez clarified.

Fernandez cited City Administrator Rafael Baraan as his witness to such a talk between him and Duque last November 14, a Tuesday. No such mention about turning over Tondaligan to the DENR was made, he claimed.

Delivering a privilege speech on the subject in last Monday’s city council session, Fernandez accused Duque of exaggerating his story.

In a letter to Duque’s host newspaper later which he read aloud to reporters, he called the whole thing as an “absolute figment of (Duque’s) imagination”

In separate inquiries by this paper, it emerges that Duque’s main source was a former Tondaligan Park administrator who supposedly has documents pointing to the sale of lots not just in the 31-hectare accretion area but even within the park itself.

Fernandez himself said in last Monday’s council session that any possible land-grabbing may not have occurred in the park but in the 31-hectare accreted land in Bonuan Binloc.

The Pangasinan Star itself, as far back as six years ago, has reported about the rampant parceling and sale of lots in Binloc by mostly Baguio businessmen who reportedly have DENR documents to show would-be buyers and lot investors.

Representatives of the DENR have been invited to next week’s session to shed light on the matter.

Reacting to the vice mayor’s outburst over his column, Duque suggested that instead of training its ire on him, the city council led by Fernandez must investigate in order to protect the interest of the city.