What we know so far: BuCor's plan to relocate its headquarters to Masungi
MANILA, Philippines (Update February 21, 8:45 a.m.) — The Bureau of Corrections is planning to transfer its headquarters from the national penitentiary in Muntinlupa City to a parcel of land within the Masungi Georeserve, an award-winning ecotourism site and conservation initiative in Rizal province.
BuCor’s plans to relocate its headquarters and training institute within Masungi drew criticisms and raised concerns that the move will damage the fragile Upper Marikina watershed, parts of which are being protected by the Masungi Georeserve Foundation for decades.
Here’s what we know about the issue:
What are BuCor claims?
On February 16, Masungi Georeserve Foundation questioned the area inspection conducted by BuCor personnel in a parcel of land called Lot 10, which comprises the ecotourism site.
A day later, the BuCor said it is the registered owner of a 270-hectare land within the area, essentially claiming the majority of the 300-hectare Masungi Georeserve.
According to BuCor officer-in-charge Gregorio Catapang Jr., a transfer certificate of title for the 270-hectare land in Barangays Kuyumbay, Layban, San Andres and Tinucan in Tanay town was issued in favor of BuCor on September 28, 2022 by the Registry of Deeds in Morong, Rizal.
The BuCor official said the parcel of land was originally registered under the Republic of the Philippines covered by the Original Certificate of Title No. 3556.
Catapang insisted that the corrections bureau remains the owner of the property unless a court nullifies its title.
What are BuCor’s plans?
The agency said it plans to transfer its headquarters, Corrections National Training Institute, and aqua- and agri-farm to Lot 10.
BuCor also plans to build a residential area for its personnel and employees there.
Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said BuCor's plans are not yet final and are still being explored.
In a letter to former Environment Secretary Jim Sampulna in 2022, the National Museum of the Philippines said that man-made threats such as quarrying and development will lead to the degeneration of the Masungi Georeserve.
It added that developments such as but not limited to establishment of facilities, construction of concrete roads or hiking trails “may become a triggering event for sinkhole collapse.” The area is made of limestones, which are soluble rocks.
What is ‘Lot 10’?
According to Masungi Georeserve Foundation, Lot 10 is part of protected areas and is home to fragile limestone formations conserved by the organization.
The property in question was equitized in a joint venture project in 2002 between the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Blue Star Construction and Development Corp., which leads Masungi’s forest restoration and conservation initiatives.
Lot 10 is also included in Masungi’s reforestation initiative with the government called Masungi Geopark Project. Under a 2017 agreement with the DENR, the initiative aims to restore 2,700 hectares of degraded forest land around the georeserve.
The foundation stressed that Lot 10 is “mountainous and geologically unbuildable” and that “development will be financially prohibitive.”
What does Proclamation 1158 say?
Catapang and Remulla cited Proclamation 1158 issued by former president and now Senior Deputy Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (Pampanga), which reserved 270 hectares of the parcel of land as the new site of the New Bilibid Prison as recommended by the DENR.
In the same proclamation, 30 hectares of land in the same area was reserved as a site of the DENR Calabarzon’s field office.
In a letter to former BuCor deputy director general and spokesperson Gabriel Chaclag in January, Masungi Georeserve Foundation president Ben Dumaliang said the presidential proclamation does not terminate the supplemental agreement executed by the DENR and the Blue Star Construction and Development Corporation on Nov. 15, 2002.
“The president (Arroyo) was deliberately misled. We respectfully submit that had the president known that Lot 10 was already the subject of a contract, especially one she herself caused, she would not have signed Presidential Proclamation No. 1158,” Dumaliang said.
In 2009, former Environment chief Lito Atienza issued a memorandum, directing the agency’s regional office to find a different site for the NBP in consideration of the appeals from homeowners in Tanay, Rizal.
What are BuCor’s next steps?
In a briefing on Monday, Catapang said the agency will tap the University of the Philippines School of Urban and Regional Planning to study “how to best develop the area.”
He added the development, if it pushes through, “should be environmentally-friendly and will not destroy the ecology in the area.”
In a separate ambush interview, Remulla said the land not in use should be utilized by the government.
“The title of Masungi belongs to the government. It’s the heritage of the Filipino people. It does not belong to one foundation at all, but to all the Filipino people,” he said.
The justice chief added that he and DENR Secretary Toni Loyzaga “will speak in one voice on this matter.” Loyzaga has yet to respond to Philstar.com’s request for comment.
Why is Masungi Georeserve important?
Once an abused strip of land, Masungi Georeserve is now an award-winning conservation area known for its lush sceneries and sprawling karst landscape. It is also home to more than 400 species of flora and fauna, some of which are rare and threatened.
Masungi, located on the foothills of the Sierra Madre, is part of the 26,000-hectare Upper Marikina River Basin Protected Landscape.
The Upper Marikina watershed plays a critical role in the climate fight by serving as a buffer against storms and by regulating water flow toward Metro Manila.
Over the years, Masungi has locked horns with quarry operators, resort owners and other entities who illegally occupy forestlands within the Upper Marikina Watershed. The DENR recently canceled quarrying permits within the Masungi Geopark Project.
Masungi managing trustee Ann Dumaliang earlier appealed to Catapang to “deem the environment as central to all issues and reconsider BuCor’s plans.” She also called on Loyzaga and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to intervene.
“The Masungi Geopark Project is at the forefront of the Philippines’ climate change agenda to enable effective, nature-based solutions involving the private sector, civil society, and communities. Sabotaging Masungi goes against our nation’s sustainable development,” the foundation said.
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