PAMB debates on Negros Natural Park: Demolish illegal structures or not?

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines – Murcia town Mayor Andrew Montelibano insisted that, based on a resolution last year, the illegal structures at the protected zone of the Northern Negros Natural Park in Salvador Benedicto town should not be demolished.

Montelibano cited as his basis a resolution approved by the Protected Area Management Board on November 11 last year that he said was presided by Governor Alfredo Marañon Jr., who has been pushing for the demolition.

This matter was the gist of the debate in last week’s meeting of the PAMB at the Capitol in this city, where some members of the Technical Working Group insisted there was no such resolution.

Lea Javier, head of the Research, Evaluation and Statistics Division of the Provincial Planning and Development Office, told Montelibano she was present in the PAMB meeting last year, and she could not remember if the resolution was approved then because “there was chaos” at the time.

Javier said Marañon, who was pushing for the demolition of the illegal structures, left hurriedly before last year’s meeting was adjourned. It was approved and seconded but it was not open for discussion or objection by the presiding officer, so the resolution was not carried out, she argued.

Montelibano however stood his ground. “With us in front of all the mayors, you might have missed it and have not listened properly. I was asked by the governor to read the resolution on top of the stage. After reading the resolution, there was a closure to it. The governor was in a hurry and approved it and it was seconded.”

The mayor then asked the TWG why the approval of the resolution by majority of the members was neglected, “It has been approved then it is deemed approved,” he added.

“All we want here is a simple respect in this PAMB community. If there’s no respect, then there’s no point of having this PAMB meeting. We should have not been called to this meeting if our time gets wasted by not listening to us and by not respecting us,” said Montelibano.

“Why would I lie to everybody and say that the resolution was approved when it’s not? I have no point of lying. This is not politics, this is not personal. This is for the betterment of Salvador Benedicto,” said the mayor of Murcia.

During the PAMB meeting, Javier said everybody agreed that all structures inside NNNP are considered illegal, and that all structures inside the strict protection zone are “non-negotiable,” while structures inside the multiple-use zone “maybe allowed” for as long as the pertinent laws-–including the Forest Land Use Plan, NIPAS Act and Protected Area Plan-–are being followed.

Montelibano countered that the resolution, which should retain its status quo until resolved, will now be signed by Jim Sampulna, regional director of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-6.

Sampulna, for his part, said the PAMB had already resolved the old structures in the area, “There was only misunderstanding here,” he said and the DENR-6 will conduct an inventory of the structures in the area before making a general management plan for the NNNP.

Meanwhile, the PAMB later approved a resolution establishing the 200-hectare townsite. But Sampulna said that building new structures within the proposed multiple-use zone is still not allowed because it still needs approval from Congress. (FREEMAN)