EASEMENT ZONE SURVEY. Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park superintendent Elizabeth Maclang points to a structure at Mary's Cottage that had encroached in the 30-meter easement zone and coastal setback area in Sabang, Cabayugan on Wednesday (March 14, 2018). (Photo by CARF)
PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Palawan -- Around 50 out of over 100 commercial establishments at the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park (PPSRNP) here were found to be in violation of the government prescribed 30-meter easement zone and coastal setback area on Wednesday.
The survey team from the Protected Area Management Board (PAMB) Project Development Evaluation Committee (PDEC) also discovered that 83 informal settler families have set up permanent homes within five hectares of an estimated 10-hectare timberland area at Campsite, Purok Dalampasigan 2, Barangay Cabayugan, on the west side portion of the park.
A former PPSRNP park superintendent and Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) employee, Adam Ausan, was also exposed to be holding a title to two properties within the timberland area.
Engineer Aries Grande, representing the city government in the PDEC, said it was a preliminary validation that would take time to complete.
“If there are too many properties, we won’t be able to cover them the whole day. Let us first establish the survey in between properties -- one end of a property, then the end of another -- because if we do them one by one now, one day is not enough,” Grande said.
Among others, Mary’s Cottage, Seaside Restobar, Dabdab Resort, Penao Restaurant, Philippine Coast Guard Substation PPUR, Blue Bamboo Restaurant, and Sunbird Cottages, were named as the establishments whose structures have breached the easement zone.
The others are food stalls, restaurants, souvenir shops, and lodging accommodations that either own or are renting properties from three big landowning families in Sabang -- Ausan, Robert Tabinga, and Pat Aborot families.
“Each member of the PDEC will give his/her own observations and recommendations to the PAMB meeting. It will be up to the PAMB to decide based on our technical report on what will be the final outcome or what other activities we still need to do,” said Allene Fernandez of the City Planning and Development Office (CPDO).
She said the report they would submit to the PAMB meeting on March 20 would be fair and would be based on the existing zoning policies to address the “realities” that are in the underground river park.
“We assure you that we will be fair in our report, and we will make sure that it will not disregard any policy and the concerns of our stakeholders here,” she said.
Grande said they are willing to provide assistance to establish coastal boundaries in the PPSRNP for establishments to be compliant with the environmental laws.
“We will provide all assistance that the report will need before it is submitted,” he said.
During the zoning validation, while many establishment owners and residents accept the fate that their structures would eventually be removed, many also expressed anxiety, not knowing what would happen to their businesses.
Seaside Restobar manager Lucy Carandang, whose business opened merely three months ago, said nobody told her about the easement zoning policy and the coastal setback.
“We just opened in November, and we do not know this policy. What will happen to our business, we have not yet recovered what we spent to construct. Why did they allow us to construct in the first place, and now they will remove us from this spot?” she said.
Her restobar operation will be completely uprooted from its spot if the PAMB decides to implement the 20-meter easement zone policy and the 10-meter coastal setback.
Edwin Magbanua, who owns the two-hectare property being rented by Carandang’s restobar, said the easement should have been measured from the waters because sea tides had already “eaten up” the Sabang beach.
“They should have started their measurement in the waters that had already eaten the beach that is why we seemed to be inside the easement zone now. This is unfair to us who hold land titles to properties here,” he said.
Souvenir shop owner Pelita Cacho, another affected operator, is worried she may have a hard time financing the education of her high school and college students.
“I don’t have any other job except this. Where will I get the money to continue sending them to school?” Cacho said.
While sympathizing with the affected business owners, Fernandez asserted that the zoning policy should be passed after the conduct of public consultations.
“Not because you’re not aware doesn’t mean you’re exempted from the law,” Fernandez said, further quoting the maxim, “ignorance of the law excuses no one”.
PDEC member Vivian Soriano of the City Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) said wastewater from the homes of the informal settlers trickle to the sea, which might seriously contribute to coliform presence in the waters.
The team that made the survey counted more than five small canals from the households that discharge wastewater to the Sabang beach.
“Look, these are the canals that discharge wastewater into the sea. The coliform presence might be low now, but eventually, they will become a problem if not addressed,” she said.
The informal who settlers numbered 1,993 were originally from from Sabang beach. They were transferred by the past administration to the timberland-classified area.
“There used to be 35 families, but through time, their number increased. Of course, their wastewater would flow into the sea,” said Elizabeth Maclang, park superintendent of the PPSRNP.
Maclang, however, assured that the recent quarterly water monitoring along Sabang Beach yielded a favorable result.
“The coliform level here was way below the tolerable limit set by the government. Although the water quality of the beach was good, we can’t guarantee it would forever remain that way,” she said.
Maclang said the PPSRNP’s PAMB has allocated a budget for the construction of a tenement that would address the community’s waste disposal concern.
“But if we are to strictly implement the 40-meter easement for timberland area, there would be no space for the tenement. Option B is to find a new relocation for them,” she said.
Cabayugan barangay chairman Ramil Gonzales, meanwhile, encouraged his constituents to follow environmental rules and regulations for everybody’s benefit.
“The implementation of the law is inevitable. If we will not observe it, the blame would someday go back to us, officials,” Gonzales said.
Maclang has urged the affected stakeholders to raise their concerns at the upcoming PAMB meeting, scheduled on March 20 at Sheridan Resort.
Soriano also said that Ausan’s land title claim to around 10 hectares of the timberland area will have to be checked since it is not classified as alienable and disposable land.
“We’ve been telling him all along that the area is not alienable and disposable, that is why we are wondering how he was able to get a title for at least two of the three lots he is applying for,” she said.
But Ausan maintained that his properties are titled, and in fact, the city government is about to purchase one lot for P6 million.
The PAMB PDEC is composed of technical persons from the CPDO, City Engineering Office, local Department of Environment and Natural Resources offices, Palawan Council for Sustainable Development, and the Environmental Legal Assistance Center. (PNA)
