Villar airs concern on management of PH protected areas

Captain’s Peak Garden and Resort in Sagbayan, Bohol, shown in this August 2023 photo, has trended on social media after netizens called out the government and
its owners for allowing its construction and operation within the Chocolate Hills, a protected area. (LEO UDTOHAN / INQUIRER)

MANILA, Philippines — Senator Cynthia Villar filed on Tuesday a resolution to probe into the protection mechanisms, or the lack thereof, accorded to Philippine protected areas in light of “distressing reports” of exploitation of protected areas.

In Senate Resolution No. 976, Villar particularly mentioned following protected areas: 

• The upper Marikina River Basin protected landscape in Rizal
• The Siargao Island Protected Landscape and Seascape in Surigao del Norte
• The Chocolate Hills Natural Monument in the Province of Bohol
• The Mount Apo Natural Park in the provinces of North Cotabato and Davao del Sur, and Davao City

According to Villar, cases involving “defacement” protected areas surface in news reports and social media, every so often.

But while reports of these alleged exploitation are now out, the senator emphasized that “there likely exist additional unreported violations.”

“It is noteworthy that the Philippines has a total of 248 protected areas, of which 114 have been formally legislated, and there is concern that these areas may not be receiving the necessary level of protection to preserve their integrity as protected areas,” said Villar.

She noted that the country has existing laws, policies, and regulations on Philippine protected areas, but according to her, there appears to be a “deficiency in their implementation.”

“It is deemed essential to examine the management practices, the issuance of tenurial agreements, and the adequacy or absence of protection mechanisms provided to each of the country’s protected areas, to ensure that the original intentions and wise foresign in their establishment are not undermined,” Villar emphasized.