Vice Governor Jose "Petit" Baldado who is running unopposed in the May 14 election is pushing for the creation of an agency to focus only on watershed program.

Baldado said the need for an honest-to-goodness watershed program, goes beyond just planting trees along the highways. He believes that water is so basic that it needs concentration. At present, nobody calls the shots, he said. An agency is regulating its operation, usage, but lacks teeth, Baldado pointed out.

This is good for the province because it has created the integrated provincial water sanitation council tasked to oversee water concerns, he added.

Baldado said he will continue the programs of outgoing Gov. George Arnaiz and on environmental programs, wildlife preservation, forest protection, and watershed management, among others.

He said he noticed that the watershed table in some areas are depleting and needs recharging through reforestation, but added that the situation is still reversible if everybody cooperates in citing the Candabong experience in Manjuyod.

Records at the Department of Environment and Natural Resources disclosed that indigenous species are coming back and starting to grow. Baldado said, "I can only plant the seeds of interest, but I can't do it alone."*JG

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