Arroyo to crisscross Northern Luzon

CAUAYAN CITY, Isabela — President Arroyo is scheduled to visit Isabela and Ifugao today, in the process crisscrossing Northern Luzon before returning to Malacañang.

In Isabela, the President is expected to visit the proposed site for the cassava processing plant of the San Miguel Corp. (SMC) in Cauayan City.

The multimillion-peso plant will be put up following SMC’s controversial acquisition of at least P100,000 hectares of farmlands in the province’s vast Mallig region for its cassava plantation.

The New People’s Army has been opposing the SMC project, claiming that thousands of farmers would lose their lands should the project push through.

The SMC and Gov. Faustino Dy have signed a memorandum of understanding for the venture, which prompted the communist rebels to include the governor in their hit list for supporting the project.

Before Isabela, the President will visit the Banaue Rice Terraces to consult with local leaders and experts on how to preserve the World Heritage Site.

The rice terraces are facing destruction, caused by the denudation of nearby forests due to slash-and-burn farming or kaingin, the drying up of water sources and the presence of giant earthworms blamed for soil erosion. — Charlie Lagasca