5,500 ha of Mayon land to be seized

LEGAZPI CITY—The government plans to expropriate up to 5,500 hectares of land inside the 6-kilometer permanent danger zone (PDZ) around Mt. Mayon to keep the area uninhabited, according to officials.

The expropriation was proposed by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to clear the area and save on the cost of evacuating residents each time Mayon acts up.

Buyout

Data from the Albay Public Safety and Emergency  Management Office (Apsemo) showed at least 1,456 families living inside the danger zone and claiming to have titles to the land.

Cedric Daep, Apsemo chief, said the provincial government had created Task Force Mayon to relocate the families outside the 6-km PDZ.

One of the task force’s objectives was to find out if the families inside the danger zone really had titles to the land, said Daep.

Initial findings, he said, showed that some of those claiming to own the lands actually had only tax declaration certificates, “not the original land title.” “These lands are classified as agricultural, not residential,” said Daep.

The task force, he said, would also recommend a “buyout scheme” to take possession of the lands.

Francis Tolentino, presidential political affairs adviser and defeated senatorial candidate, said the DENR was given instruction to fast-track the expropriation proceeding.

The DENR would no longer process titles for lands inside the 6-km PDZ.

Force of law

Ed Laguerta, resident volcanologist, said the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), had already submitted a paper to the provincial board recommending an ordinance to bar all human activity inside the 6-km PDZ.

The ordinance, or local law, would “make the prohibitive zone a no-man’s-land, thus, solving the perennial problem of stubborn villagers” who refuse to leave the area.

At least 5,610 villagers were still in evacuation centers and were likely to remain there until Phivolcs lowers the alert level for Mayon to 2. —MAR S. ARGUELLES