DOT to rehabilitate Matabungkay Beach

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Tourism (DOT) plans to rehabilitate Matabungkay Beach in Lian, Batangas, in a bid to restore the destination’s former glory, a newly-appointed official said.

In a interview, DOT regional director for Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon) Jeff Ortega said they have already started talks with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) regarding the rehabilitation of the Batangas beach.

“For Matabungkay, we’re trying to restore its old glory because it’s a very popular beach place especially for families and vacation goers,” Ortega said.

Matabungkay beach became a popular weekend destination in the 1950s due to its proximity to Manila.

“Actually as of this moment, this is only my first month (in office) and so far, we’ve engaged in several talks with a lot of regional offices concerned as well as the stakeholders,” he said.

Ortega said among the problems that need to be addressed in Matabungkay are mainly easement issues.

“As of this moment, according to the LGU and the previous management of Region 4 A Calabarzon, salvage zone issues, basically landowners that are building go beyond where they’re supposed to build on. It’s the usual problem in the Philippines nowadays,”Ortega said.

While Ortega said it’s difficult to give a timeline for the rehabilitation of the beach, he hopes to have some work started soon.
“We’re looking forward to running something by this quarter, if not this quarter early next year,” Ortega said.

According to earlier reports, an environment users fee of P25 is currently in place in Matabungkay Beach, which is collected from tourists. The fund is intended to be used to ensure the cleanliness and protection of the environment.

Residents of Matabungkay earlier opposed the collection of the said fees, noting the LGU’s misuse of the fund, emphasizing that pollution in the water has worsened.

Last year, the DENR said it was conducting a inventory, as well as site inspection of resorts in Calabarzon, to ensure that proper environmental laws are met in a bid to prevent another Boracay from happening.

The flagship island of Boracay was closed for six months last year to pave the way for the rehabilitation of the island plagued by environmental issues.