The Hinactacan Project

"Hinactacan" is a Hiligaynon word meaning a place where fishes abound like fallen leaves. It is the name given to a tiny barangay (smallest political unit) in the District of Lapaz, Iloilo City, Philippines. Brgy. Hinactacan has a population of 922 people. Most of the menfolk are fishermen and the place is accesible by tricycle or small private vehicles.It is situated along the estuary of the Jaro River, facing Guimaras Strait. Its shoreline is shared by Brgy. Ingore, Lapaz, Iloilo City to its right, where a diesel powerplant is located, and Brgy. Bitoon, Jaro, Iloilo City on its left, where a newly finished floodway project is expected to empty the flood waters coming from the Tigum and Aganan Rivers come rainy season. Due to power shortage a new coal-fired powerplant is nearing completion at Brgy. Ingore beside the diesel powerplant. Adjacent to the community is a mangrove area where at least 12 endemic and migratory birds abound. It is also a known breeding place of countless marine life. While the environmentalists focus their concern on the effects of the coal-fired powerplant on our environment nobody seems to notice the effects of the tremendous siltation that the floodway will bring in the near future. This the reason behind the Hinactacan Project being spearheaded by the Sidlangan-Sublak Civic-Cultural Organization of Central Philippine University, Jaro, Iloilo City.