PB members back plan to exempt Camotes lands as reserved areas

Two Provincial Board members filed a resolution supporting a House Bill excluding the alienable and disposable dry lands of the islands of Ponson, Poro and Pacijan in Camotes Island from among the declared mangrove swamp forest reserves in the country.

PB members Agnes Magpale and Rosemarie Durano said they backed HB 4600, filed by Rep. Ramon "Red" Durano VI of the fifth district of Cebu, in response to the concerns of the people in the affected towns of the islands.

It is practical to exempt the dry lands of Camotes from being classified as mangrove swamp forest reserves so that the prevailing economic boom brought about by the advancement of tourism in the area would not be compromised, said the two provincial legislators.

Presidential Proclamation No. 2152, issued by former president Ferdinand Marcos on December 20, 1981, declared these three islands in Camotes as among the mangrove swamp forest reserves in the country.

This means that any mode of proclamation, entry, sales, settlement, or disposition of lands in these areas is not allowed.

The PB members said such presidential proclamation is sweeping because it included the dry lands in the islands as among the mangove swamp forest reserves.

The three islands of Camotes have a total land area of 20,765 hectares, 17,397 hectares of which are alienable and disposable dry lands, 2,518 hectares are upland timberland, 850 hectares are mangrove swamp forests, and the 685-hectare expanse is the Danao Lake.

Even before the Marcos proclamation was issued there have been already settlement patterns occurring and growing in these islands, said Magpale and Durano.

They said four towns there are already developed with complete government offices and agencies, concrete road network, ports, markets, water system, and schools, among others.

The congressman, for his part, said he filed HB 4600 not only to protect the natural resources and the environment of Camotes Islands but also to allow the use of these resources for economic development purposes. - Jose P. Sollano