City gov't stops endorsing foreshore lease contracts

Any application for lease contract of foreshore lands or public lots along the riverbanks in the city would not be endorsed anymore for approval.

City planning officer Nigel Paul Villarete yesterday issued a memorandum to his personnel directing them to refrain from issuing clearances or even certifications for foreshore lease application.

Villarete said the Department of Environment and Natural Resources usually requires foreshore applicants to secure certifications from the local government where the subject property is located.

Some people apply for lease contract with the government-through the DENR-to utilize foreshore lots over a 25-year period that is renewable for a similar duration.

This matter would not be the same anymore, as the city government would neither endorse for approval any lease contract application or issue certification for such property to the DENR, said Villarete.

The city's chief planner said the city government already created the River Management Council and Coastal Management Board, which are tasked to formulate ways to protect and improve coastal and riverbank areas in the city.

A foreshore land, according to the law, is a stretch of land bounding a body of water. It is also the part of the seashore "between the low-water line usually at the seaward margin of a low tide terrace and the upper limit of wave washed at high tide usually marked by a beach scarp or berm." -Rene U. Borromeo/RAE