06/14/2008 [ tribune.net.ph ]
The House committee on natural resources has approved nine legislative measures declaring certain parts of the country as protected areas and reclassifying timberlands as alienable and disposable lands.
The committee headed by Rep. Ignacio “Iggy” Arroyo (5th district, Negros Occidental province) agreed to pass the proposals as they cited the importance to protect and conserve natural habitats and other ecological treasures of the country for the benefit of the present and future generations of Filipinos.
House bill 1205 establishes the Casecnan Protected Landscape (CPL), which spreads across the provinces of Nueva Vizcaya, Quirino and Aurora, as a protected area.
Rep. Juan Edgardo Angara (lone district, Aurora), the author of HB 1205, said the CPL is home to various wildlife resources wherein some of which are unique and endangered species.
HB 2202 authored by Rep. Hermilando Mandamas (2nd district, Batangas province) declares the Verde Passage Marine Corridor located in the provinces of Batangas, Marinduque, Mindoro Occidental and Oriental and Romblon, as a protected area.
HB 3229 filed by Rep. Carlo Oliver Diasnes (lone district, Batanes province) declares the municipality of Itbayat in Batanes as a sanctuary or protected area for “Tatus” or Birgus Latro” (Coconut Crab), which is considered a rare species.
HB 3480, authored by Rep. Antonio Alvarez (1st district, Palawan province), seeks to establish the Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park in Palawan under the National Integrated Protected Area System Act, or Republic Act 7586.
The committee also approved another similar measure, HB 3982, which establishes the Grand Apo Reef in Sablayan town, Occidental Mindoro province as a protected area, under the classification of natural park, and its peripheral water as buffer zones.
Rep. Amelita Villarosa (lone district, Occidental Mindoro), author of HB 3982, said the Grand Apo Reef is the “second largest atoll-like reef in the world and the largest coral reef in the Philippines.”
Meanwhile, HB 509 authored by Rep. Mauricio Domogan (lone district, Baguio City), declares Burnham Park as national park.
Aside from the measures declaring protected areas, the committee also approved two bills seeking to reclassify forest lands as alienable and disposable. These are: HB 504, authored by Domogan, which declares certain portions of the public domain at the Forbes Park Reservation in Baguio City as alienable and disposable for socialized housing and other purposes; and HB 514, authored by Rep. Abraham Khalil Mitra (2nd District, Palawan), reclassifies timberland areas within Barangay Magsaysay in Aborlan, Palawan into alienable and disposable lands. PNA
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