Daet needs to reclaim part of Bicol National Park in its bid for cityhood

                                          A busy section of Daet town proper.

DAET, Camarines Norte: The local government of this capital town is reclaiming part of the 11,000ha area of the Bicol National Park (BNP) within the Camarines Norte side of the national park that is currently in the territorial jurisdiction of neighboring town of Basud.

Daet town Mayor Tito Sarion said that this is in connection with the town's bid to become the first city in this province.

Daet has all that it takes to become the next city in the Bicol region but its present total land area falls short of the 10,000ha required to qualify for cityhood, said the mayor.

In a recent conference attended by Mayor Sarion, the town's municipal planning and development officer, several councilors and the town's legal counsel, it was revealed that 11,000ha of the BNP was originally part of Daet based on land classification maps from the National Archives as surveyed by the Department of Agriculture and National Resources, Bureau of Forestry (DANR - BOF) on May 13, 1969.

Municipal planning and development coordinator Emily Palomiano said that currently Daet's land area is 5,861ha based on DENR certification dated March 5, 1989.

Another version of Daet's land area says it is only 4, 600ha -- and this is the basis of the town's Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA).

Daet's town counsel lawyer Rommel Andres de Jesus claimed they wanted a "win-win" outcome in their negotiation with the town of Basud, which has a certification from the NAMBRIA on the territorial jurisdiction of the 11,000ha of the BNP, as basis of their Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA).

De Jesus added, that the capital town intends to claim only a portion of the 11,000ha, just enough comply with the territorial requirement for a city.

Basud  shall retain the remaining area.

Based on records of the DENR and the Bureau of Lands, some territories that now belong to the towns of Basud, San Lorenzo Ruiz and Mercedes used to be parts of Daet. - Vox Bicol

The first Dr Jose Rizal monument was erected in Daet, Camarines Norte, on December 30, 1898, two years after the martyr was executed by Spain on December 30, 1896 at Luneta in Manila.