Reclassification of Bantayan lots among gov’t’s priorities

CEBU, Philippines - The act declaring a portion of Bantayan Island in Cebu as alienable and disposable is among the priority legislative agenda President Benigno Aquino III is expected to pass.

Authored by fourth district Representative Benhur Salimbangon, House Bill 1941 is among the 18 of 29 agenda the national administration will prioritize. 

The reclassification would qualify the area as a resettlement site for the permanent housing project for residents displaced by super typhoon Yolanda. 

The Regional Development Council-7 had earlier requested the Congress to lift the wilderness and protected area status of Bantayan so settlements could be reconstructed and rehabilitated and commercial activities could resume in the island.

The request was made following RDC-7’s endorsement of the Bantayan Island Wilderness Area General Management Plan that the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-7 crafted almost a year after the super typhoon ravaged the Visayas. 

The GMP, which classifies areas in the island into a multiple use zone and strict protection zone, would serve as a tool to de-establish the zoning of Bantayan Island as a wilderness area. 

The GMP was approved by the island’s Protected Area Management Board and endorsed by the Cebu Provincial Development Council.  The RDC-7 said investments and reconstruction efforts would go to waste if the island remains in the wilderness and protected area status. 

The RDC-Economic Development Committee has recommended the endorsement of the GMP to the DENR secretary and to the House of Representatives to fast-track its approval and implementation. 

Bantayan Island is classified as a protected wildlife area under Presidential Proclamation 2151 then President Ferdinand Marcos signed in 1981. PP 2151 prevented the 14,183.50 hectares in all three municipalities of Santa Fe, Bantayan, and Madridejos from becoming alienable and disposable. 

Because of this, the National Housing Authority-7 earlier said it can only provide financial assistance for housing materials and not relocation sites to Yolanda survivors in the island. 

The relocation sites for survivors have to be purchased by the local government unit, but the Commission on Audit requires LGUs to purchase only titled properties. (FREEMAN)