THE people of Bantayan Island, Cebu have found an ally in Richard Gordon.
The senator said he would help them convert their lands from wilderness into alienable and disposable so they can have their properties titled under their names.
Gordon was in Cebu last week for the groundbreaking of the P10-million blood bank in Bogo City at the site donated by the City Government.
Gordon promised to file a Senate bill to this effect after he was informed that even the municipal halls and barangay halls of the towns of Bantayan, Sta. Fe and Madridejos are covered only by tax declarations.
According to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), a tax declaration is not proof of land ownership. Only titles are.
Gordon was informed that the lands in Bantayan Island cannot be titled to any individual or government agency because then president Ferdinand Marcos issued Presidential Proclamation 2151 in December 1981, declaring Bantayan Island as a wilderness area.
As a result, 14,183.50 hectares cannot be titled.
Gordon said he will discuss the matter with Cebu congressmen so a similar bill can be filed in the House of Representatives.
Earlier attempts
Gordon said the Philippine Red Cross, of which he is the governor, has constructed and donated about 8,300 houses for survivors of typhoon Yolanda in the fourth district, including Bantayan Island.
Fourth District Rep. Benhur Salimbangon earlier said he already filed House bills twice in Congress to convert Bantayan Island into alienable and disposable lands.
One bill reached the Senate but this was not referred to the bicameral committee because the election was coming at that time and the senators were busy campaigning nationwide, he said.
With Gordon, Salimbangon who is now on his final term as congressman, will have a counterpart advocate in the Senate.
DENR Undersecretary Isabelo Montejo said his agency has already approved the General Management Plan (GMP) of Bantayan Island which can be used to support a House bill or Senate bill that will convert it into alienable and disposal lands.
Montejo said the GMP defines which areas are to be inside a multiple-use zone, which ones are classified as strict protection zones, and which ones are alienable and disposable.