Unless the bills are passed and the legislative flaws are corrected, another Chocolate Hills fiasco is going to take place.
The Filipino people have always been proud of Bohol’s Chocolate Hills—a one-of-a-kind land formation that has been bestowed World Heritage Site status by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). So it was with shock and dismay that they received the news that a commercial establishment–Captain’s Peak Garden and Resort—had intruded into the Hills.
A flurry of blame-putting quickly ensued. The accusing fingers were directed mainly at the concerned Bohol local government units (LGUs) – the government, a municipality and three barangays of Bohol – and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
The Filipino people have been wondering how a commercial facility could be constructed on land supposedly protected by the Expanded National Integrated Protected Areas System (E-NIPAS). And they are eager to learn how the concerned LGUs could not have known that construction of a commercial facility was taking place in the vicinity of the Chocolate Hills.
To answer the charge that it failed to prevent the despoliation of the Chocolate Hills by Captain’s Peak Garden and Resort, the DENR pointed to flawed legislation. In the first place, DENR said, the Revised Public Land Act’s definition of alienable and disposable lands (ADL) – “lands of the public domain that have been the subject of the present system of classification and have been declared as not needed for forest and mineral purposes or national parks” – has made it possible for around 14,000 hectares of the Chocolate Hills’ 19,000 hectares to be titled to private persons. To complicate matters, certain parts of the Chocolate Hills area were placed under E-NIPAS without determination as to whether they were ADLs.
Another environmental-law flaw cited by DENR was the fact that the protected-area system allows for multiple uses, i.e., is not strictly protectionist. Under the strictly protectionist classification, nothing can be built or altered within the protected zone; under the multiple-use classification, some development activities can be allowed.
Still another environmental law flaw cited by the DENR related to the composition of the Protected Area Management Board (PAMB), which reviews and approves environmental clearance certificates (ECCs). When it is pointed out that the majority of PAMB members are politicians—such as barangay captains—the problem for environment protection quickly becomes evident. A politically inclined PAMB member is more likely to approve an ECC for a project that is environmentally questionable.
The regulatory flaws cited by DENR are perfect examples of how the government itself, through bad legislation or administrative failure, can prevent the attainment of governmental goals.
The secretary of the Environment and Natural Resources stated that upon its discernment of the flaws, the DENR proposed bills in Congress to amend the flawed pieces of legislation. That was more than two years ago; the bills have yet to reach second reading.
Unless the bills are passed and the legislative flaws are corrected, another Chocolate Hills fiasco is going to take place. Such an occurrence is something that must be avoided at all cost.
(llagasjessa@yahoo.com)
