Welcome Message

Isang makakalikasang umaga po sa ating lahat,

On behalf of our regional director, RD Ma. Victoria V. Abrera, it gives me a great
pleasure to welcome all of you to the Pre-organizational meeting of the Lower
Amburayan River System Water Quality Management Area (LARS-WQMA)
Governing Board.
The designation of the Amburayan River System as a Water Quality management
Area is the first step in our advocacy and mandate provided to us by the Section 5
of the RA 9275 otherwise known as the Philippine Clean Water Act of 2004 to
restore the water quality of our water bodies that would be beneficial for the
environment and development of the communities that lie therein.
The Jaime V. Ongpin Foundations, Inc. in coordination and active participation of
the DENR - EMB Region I, Provincial Governments of Ilocos Sur and La Union,
National Government Agencies, Local Government Units, Representatives of
Farmers and Irrigators and Representatives of Indigenous People initiated the
project to save, restore and protect the Amburayan River by means of enrolling it
as a Water Quality Management Area on June 2014. The provision of the RA 9275
on the establishment of WQMAs requires the designation of the Water Quality
Task Force of LGUs, Ten Consecutive Months of Water Quality Monitoring
(performed during the months of May 2015- February 2016), Conduct of
Stakeholders Meetings and LGU Consultations (20 overall), and the submission of
the formal proposal to designate the Water Body as WQMA (approval of LARS
WQMA proposal on June 17, 2016 and endorsed by the EMB I to the DENR
Secretary on June 27, 2016). The activities on which the RA 9275 requires us to
execute to designate the LARS as WQMA are done, and now, we are gathered here
to elect membership, define the functions of and state the responsibilities of the
members of the LARS WQMA Governing Board.
I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincerest gratitude to the
organizers of this event, the Jaime V. Ongpin Foundations, Inc.. They have been
working with us since the beginning of the planning stage for this project. We truly
appreciate and respect your dedication and your concern to save, restore and
protect our environment and natural resources.
Finally, this is an opportune time for me to declare the official opening of the PreOrganizational Meeting of the Lower Amburayan River Water Quality
Management Area (LARS WQMA) Governing Board.
I warmly welcome you again.
JPER