TO OPEN up the Camotes group of islands to development and more economic opportunities for residents, Representative Vincent Franco “Duke” Frasco (Cebu, fifth district) has filed a bill on Monday, Sept. 23, 2019 to fulfill these aims.
The legislation seeks the lifting of the Mangrove Swamp Forest Reserves (MSFR) declaration for the islands of Poro, Pacijan and Ponson in order to convert the dry lands portion to alienable and disposable lands. The municipalities of San Francisco, Tudela, Poro and Pilar are on these islands.
The MSFR declaration for several provinces was made by then President Ferdinand Marcos through his Presidential Proclamation 2152 on Dec. 29, 1981.
Having been declared a forest reserve area, the lands in Camotes could not be sold or disposed of in any way or for whatever purpose.
“While we appreciate the government’s intention to protect the islands, it is unrealistic and causes more disadvantages rather than bring benefit for the people. The intention of the presidential proclamation may have been laudable, but economic data would show that this has been prohibitive to growth and development,” Frasco said.
Frasco’s House Bill 4785 was submitted to the House for first reading Wednesday, Sept. 25, and it was referred to the committee on natural resources headed by Rep. Elpidio Barzaga Jr. of Dasmariñas City, Cavite.
In his proposal, Frasco states that there are “legal, economic and holistic justifications” for the exclusion of the dry lands in the Camotes islands from the MSFR classification.
“The people of the islands have been deprived of developing their economy, attracting developers and investors, and getting what they rightfully deserve,” Frasco said in his bill.
Should it pass, Frasco’s bill is seen to boost the economy of the four municipalities in Camotes; it would also benefit the towns’ 102,996 residents based on the 2015 census.
Frasco’s proposal, though, excludes the stretch of mangrove swamp connecting the towns of San Francisco and Poro from the alienable and disposable classification that he is seeking.
He further cited statistics from the Philippine Statistics Authority showing that thousands of people had been living on the island municipalities as thriving communities even before the declaration of the areas as a forest reserve, and that local government units had been in place before the declaration 38 years ago.
Emphasizing that the four municipalities in Camotes are ripe for development, Frasco said that it is only fitting that the government lifts the MSFR declaration “so that the communities that have been thriving there can finally enjoy land ownership” and be given opportunities that can uplift their economic status. (PR)