WITH the unique culture and tradition and rich natural resources which attract local and foreign researchers, town officials of Kabayan in Benguet is pushing to regulate entry of researchers.
The local council of Kabayan passed Ordinance No. 139-19 entitled “An ordinance regulating the entry of researchers in the municipality of Kabayan, Benguet imposing penal sanctions for violations thereof.”
The ordinance was endorsed to the members of the Provincial Board of Benguet on May 2 for their favorable review.
Authored by Councilors Olivia Salbino and Orlan Kelcho, the ordinance covers all types of researches or documentations for any purpose within the municipality.
“It is the duty of the municipality to protect and promote the rights of its people from activities that affect them and their habitat, protect its environment from acts that endanger, ensure the safety and protection of all municipal government properties, public documents or records of public interest, and to maximize the use of its resources to generate local revenue,” the lawmakers stated in the ordinance.
In addition, researchers must file to the Office of the Mayor their letter of intent or research proposal containing identity of the researchers, purpose or rationale of the research, methods and materials to be used and data gathering instruments, scope and limitation of the study.
Researchers must also provide details on the period of research, chronology of activities, manifestation agreeing to shoulder the administrative costs incidental to the research, permits, and certifications, clearances from the national, regional and provincial agencies with direct supervision on the subject of research.
A barangay clearance, National Bureau Investigation clearance, and two pieces of 2x2 photo must also be provided.
“The Office of Municipal Mayor will review and evaluate the proposal and its attachments to determine its sufficiency to be forwarded to the Sangguniang Bayan,” the ordinance added.
A fee will also be collected from groups with approved researches.
Students will be asked to shell out P500 while P800 for others and graduate school researches; P1,000 for professional school researchers and P1,500 for commercial purposes.
An exemption will be imposed when the academic research is undertaken by students who are residents of the municipality of Kabayan as requirement to complete their subject course.
Other guidelines for the conduct of research or documentation will also be provided.