El Nido residents told to vacate beach homes

LET’S HIT THE BEACH Two frolicking kids have the beach of El Nido, Palawan, to themselves, but maybe not for long because beach house owners will soon be relocated. —CELESTE ANNA FORMOSO/CONTRIBUTOR

PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Palawan, Philippines — The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has served notice to residents and businessmen to vacate houses and establishments near the shoreline and mangrove areas in El Nido town, Palawan.

Clarisse Pador, officer of the El Nido-Taytay Managed Resource Protected Area (MRPA), said on Wednesday that notices had been served informing residents of their violation and ordering them to “self-vacate” in Barangay Bucana.

“We did the survey and many would be affected,” she said, referring to 1,000 residents. “The DENR’s mandate is to inform them of their violation. We don’t have the power to demolish.”

The DENR has identified 363 households and business establishments that had encroached on the 20-meter and 40-meter easement zones.

Structures within the 20 meters of shoreline and 40 meters of mangrove areas are prohibited under Article 51 of Presidential Decree No. 1067, or the Water Code of the Philippines.

The local government in El Nido had been tasked to look for a relocation for the residents who would be displaced by the order.

Short notice

One resident rued that the 30-day notice was too short and that relocation was “not properly” discussed during the barangay council forum.

Raffy Cabate, El Nido administrator, assured the residents that due process would be followed.

“Everything would undergo due process. We would not just demolish because we could be sued,” he said.

El Nido Mayor Edna Lim has taken steps to find a relocation site, including cadastral lands, for the residents, Cabate said.

He said the residents and business owners could appeal the notice until late December by presenting land title and other relevant documents.

“Lands that are to be released will be given consideration. Our goal is to fix the residential areas and not those areas that are prohibited,” Cabate said.

Henry Adornado, director of DENR in Mimaropa, is set to meet with Mayor Lim on Thursday to discuss the matter as the “rehabilitation” plan for El Nido gets underway.—ROMAR MIRANDA, CONTRIBUTOR