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By Annie Ruth C. Sabangan
and Ric R. Puod, Senior reporters
REALITY seems to suffer on the map of the
Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). Be it high
or low tide, small islands on the coast of Nasugbu, Batangas,
remain visible. But on the land classification map of the DENR,
these islands do not exist.
Asked for the classification of the small
islands that The Times found lying on the waters of Nasugbu—some
of which have already been developed into resorts and
private-vacation sites—a forester of the DENR’s community office
in the province replied: “Hindi namin makwan ’yon eh. Kung ano
lang nasa mapa namin, ’yun lang ’yon.”
Since these islands do not appear on the
classification map, do not expect that DENR personnel at the local
level to have all the information on the island’s physical
framework. Land classification, survey and monitoring records are
usually incomplete or, worse, no records exist.
“There is no actual delineation of the ground.
Even for some of the protected areas already on the map, we don’t
have the actual delineation. The budget is insufficient for
delineation. At times, private individuals have the money for
delineation. They could easily [put inalienable islands] under their
names,” said Danilo Morales, provincial environment and natural
resources officer for Batangas.
Records of Nasugbu’s Fortune Island—which
could be considered a flash-point case handled numerous times by
past DENR administrations—are usually not in the archives of the
department’s local offices in
Worse, some DENR local officials appear to be
clueless on if not ignorant of the issues surrounding the small
islands, such as Fortune. They are uninformed although alienable and
disposable areas, public lands and forest areas of all the towns in
Batangas are directly within their jurisdiction.
Asked if the provincial office has records on
Fortune Island, Morales replied, “Wala kaming masyadong kwan . . .
ditong information, because sinasabi nga nila na may titulo ’yan,
but it was during the time of the Bureau of Lands ’yan.”
If records on Fortune Island—which is the most
well known island in Nasugbu—cannot be found in the local offices,
how much more of the records of nine lesser-known small islands
belonging to the town?
“Wala,” was the reply of Manuel Ampiloquio
to The Times’ question if the Community Environment and Natural
Resources Office (CENRO) in Calaca town, which also has jurisdiction
over Nasugbu, has records of Fortune Island. Ampiloquio is the chief
of the Land Management Services of the CENRO.
“I’m not aware of that,” he said when
asked if he knows that Pulong Calayo, now called Lorelei 1, has been
developed into a private vacation place and is already under the
properties of Pag-Asa Sales Inc., a company owned by Sen. Loren
Legarda’s parents, Antonio and Bessie Legarda.
Ampiloquio’s reply is strange. Practically
most of Nasugbu folk living near the island know more about Lorelei.
So, why not CENRO?
Chances are, other small islands in Nasugbu,
like Fortune and Lorelei, have been developed, occupied or titled
under the names of private individuals without the knowledge of DENR
local officials and personnel who have direct supervision of these
islands.
The complete records and case folders of Fortune
Island, The Times research shows, can be found only in the DENR
office for Southern Tagalog on Roxas Boulevard, Manila, but not in
the records section of the regional office. But one office lawyer,
who is burdened with hundreds of land cases, apparently had some
files.
Work overload made it difficult for the lawyer
to find the Fortune files. “Ang dami ko kasing hinahawakang kaso.
Hahanapin ko pa ’yung files na kailangan n’yo, natabunan ng
ibang papeles,” he said when asked about the records on Fortune.
Not completely ignorant
It cannot be said, however, that DENR local
officials and personnel are completely ignorant of the law. They
know that under the Forestry Code of the Philippines, islands that
are less than 250 hectares and that are far from any alienable and
disposable lands are for forest purposes. They know that these
islands should remain inalienable unless a presidential proclamation
or an act of Congress would open them for disposition.
They also know that under Commonwealth Act 141,
or the Public Land Act, lease agreements and other stewardship
arrangements are the only legal means allowed for the development of
inalienable lands.
But knowledge of the laws does not necessarily
mean they could be fully enforced. Failure to carry out a law could
come from fear of powerful politicians, lack of manpower and
resources, absence of political will—all of these reasons could
have made DENR local officials and personnel waver in their duties
as public servants.
Morales, for instance, said his office cannot
act by its own motion on usurpation of small islands, unless someone
formally complains to his office.
Morales said DENR local officials and personnel
cannot easily enter and conduct an investigation of small islands
that have already been granted titles through judicial procedures.
They cannot investigate even if they suspect that environmental laws
have been violated. “Hindi puwede agad ipasok ’yun sa Oplan Fake
Title. We cannot just enter the area unless ordered by the court.
Somebody has to complain,” Morales said.
Not an excuse
Asked if it was possible that the PENRO or the
CENRO take the initiative in informing the DENR central office about
irregularities, Morales said no. “Hindi puwede, dahil may titulo
na kasi ’yan eh. Tsaka solicitor general ang abugado natin dyan
eh,” he said.
But who would complain to or inform the DENR
central office? If DENR local officials and personnel cannot even
inform their central office about complaints, the poor and powerless
people of Nasugbu—especially fisherfolk—may not be expected to
lodge a formal complaint with the government.
Although DENR officials like Morales should
respect court decisions on issuing titles that develop properties
(even small islands) into private assets and thus should not be
trespassed, nothing appears to stop local officials and personnel
from asking fishermen about their perceived questionable activities
on the islands.
Such excuses are not acceptable to Environment
Secretary Elisea Gozun. “They should be able to act on behalf of
the state,” she said. If they are unable to do so, they should at
least inform the central office to get some action, she said.
“It’s a reality, lalo na sa probinsiya, pag
the powers that be ang kaharap. But that still should not stop them
from raising the issue to the higher-ups. Sinasabi ko sa mga tao
namin, kung pine-pressure kayo sa baba, ibato n’yo sa akin. Let me
handle the problem at my level,” she said in a recent interview.
Solutions
The DENR, Gozun said, is taking steps to
rationalize the country’s land classification system. She
explained that the government has encountered problems on land
classification and titling, among others, because different agencies
dealing with land classification are using different maps.
She said the DENR recently bought all the most
recent satellite photographs of lands, which are now being
interpreted by the Forest Management Bureau and the National Mapping
Resources Information Authority for the scientific delineation of
the country’s forest lines. This information would be disseminated
to DENR’s field offices.
At the field level, Gozun said the DENR will
also set up a one-stop shop. The shop would have a common map for
all divisions of the DENR. The map would overlay all land
classifications through color codes for each province, making it
easy for all DENR offices to determine if a piece of land is part of
a forest area, marine reserve, mineral area, alienable or
disposable. The task of land classification would be easier.
A proposal to reform land administration has
been prepared by the Land Administration and Management Project
(LAMP) for the DENR in cooperation with the Australian Agency for
International Development. LAMP proposes the reform and
consolidation of land-reform administration laws and regulations.
Core land administration functions would be under a single agency.
This agency’s function would involve land
mapping and survey, land classification, land information,
disposition of alienable and disposable public land, first-time
issue of certificates of title, registration certificates of title
and title transactions, verification and approval of subdivision
plans, all cadastral records and land valuation standards and
methods.
Gozun said small islands could also be developed
into ecotourism sites that would not only give priority to
environmental preservation and enhancement but also consider the
community’s active participation in development.
Part
1 |Part
2 |Part 4 |Conclusion |
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