The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) will start the relocation survey as part of the cleanup of the easement and salvage zones in coastal areas of Puerto Princesa City this August 2019 prioritizing tourism destinations sites.
Forester Felizardo Cayatoc, Community Environment and Natural Resources Officer (CENRO) of the DENR-CENRO Puerto Princesa, said that the clean up in coastal easement is a marching order of the national office in a bid to initiate clean up in tourist destinations.
“Mag1relocate ng easement and salvage zones this August or September. Magsisimula dito sa may area sa Canigarang, sa Nasin-aw, sa White Beach dito sa Bancao-Bancao. Isusunod ang Nagtabon, Talaudyong, Sabang at iba pa,” he said.
Cayatoc further said that they will install markers as demarcation of the boundaries of the coastal easement. They will issue notices to the owners of any buildings and structures built within the coastal easement.
They are prioritizing tourist destination within Puerto Princesa. “Priority natin ang mga tourist destinations. Later ay titignan na ang ibang areas,” he said.
The clean up of DENR in Palawan started in El Nido, one of the country’s premier tourism destinations.
Both El Nido and Coron were identified as priority areas for the clean up after the national government initiated the clean up in Boracay that resulted to its six-month closure.
In June 2018, the DENR and LGU El Nido, with the help of the provincial government started the demolition of structures and buildings of 32 establishments in Brgy. Masagana and Buena Suerte that encroached within the three-meter coastal easement.
The DENR said that easement is intended for public use and should be free from any buildings or structures.
Article 51 of the Water Code of the Philippines or PD 1067 states that the shores of the seas within a zone of three meters in urban area, 20 meters in agricultural areas and 40 meters in forest areas are considered as easement and salvage zones.
The Section 31 also provides that for purposes of Article 51 of the Code, all easements is for public use and any construction or structure that encroaches into such easement shall be ordered removed or cause to be removed by the appropriate government agencies.
CENRO Cayatoc said that the clean up is in line with President Rodrigo Duterte’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) to rid coastal easement of any structure and other encroachment.
“Tamang-tama ito kasi ang continous clean-up ng easement sa coastal areas ay aligned sa SONA ni President Duterte,” CENRO Cayatoc said.
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