DESPITE having an endorsement of the Protected Area Management Board (PAMB), the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) based in Cortes town has temporarily halted the operations of the Sta. Felomina ecotourism complex in Alburquerque town for having no Environmental Clearance Certificate and Special Agreement for Protected Area (SAPA).
This is confirmed by Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Officer (PENRO) Ariel Rica and the Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO), who attended on Friday the environment committee hearing over the protected area fiasco. The temporary stoppage served sometime last week and received by the mayor’s office of Alburquerque was prompted while the town is applying for the ECC.
The closure impacts the whale shark watching activity by the VicTours owned by Victorino Garay and the salt-making of “Asin Tibuok” operating inside the said complex situated within the Alburquerque-Loboc-Loay Protected Landscape and Seascape (ALLPLS), barangay Sta. Felomina, Alburquerque town.
As this developed, DENR’s contention on multiple-use zone and policy in issuing ECC drew a myriad of confusion for the provincial board’s environment committee investigating in aid of legislation the whale shark watching operations in Alburquerque town.
This surfaced as the residents of barangay Sta. Felomina filed a complaint against the whale watching activity.
Ms. Teresita Maghanoy, a concerned citizen here, told the committee hearing that the whale watching has violated environment policies, like the NIPAS Act of 1992 and Municipal Ordinance on coastal management enacted by the town since it has no ECC and SAPA.
She lamented why there was no public bidding over the use or rent of Sta. Felomina Eco-tourism complex when it is located in the public domain.
And it was found out that the whale watching activity is operating inside the established marine protected area (MPA) nearby or fronting the ALLPLS (inland), where mangroves are abound, according to the Bohol Environment Management Office (BEMO) represented by its office head Jovencia Ganub during the said hearing.
PAMB passed Resolution No. 19, series of 2022, endorsing the said eco-tourism complex development with the following activities: kayaking, snorkeling, swimming, mangrove/boardwalk tour, cottages, observation of “Asin Tibuok” making. But there was no mention of the whale shark watching activity.
The complex is allowed to have the facilities, like the parking area, waiting area, storage, souvenir booths, ticketing/admin office, kayak stations, swimming pool, CCTV, rest rooms and shower/dressing room, the Resolution said.
The said Resolution No 19, s. 2022 is prepared by DENR’s Benigno Gamayot and signed by Primo Espiritu, barangay captain of Población Ubos, Loay who presided the PAMB meeting, PENRO Rica and regional executive director Paquito Melicor as PAMB chairman.
Even though the whale watching is actually happening outside the ALLPLS, but VicTours is operating activities, like ticketing, briefing of guests, and others, within the complex which is situated inside the ALLPLS.
Since VicTours is operating inside the complex, the whale watching activity needs to secure ECC, DENR said during the said committee probe on Friday led by Board Member Atty. Jiselle Rae Villamor.
DENR agreed to the probing inquiry of Villamor that even the actual whale watching takes outside the declared protected area but the activity starts within the site of the Sta. Felomina Eco-tourism complex, where the briefing of divers/whale-watching, ticketing and rest rooms are located.
Aside from ECC, there’s even a need to secure the Special Agreement on Protected Areas (SAPA) since the whale watching activity operates inside or within the declared ALLPLS.
In separate interview, Garay said that they did not apply for ECC in whale watching operation since it is the Alburquerque town who applies for it. But still the town has yet to be issued the needed ECC while it complies with requirements under processing.
Victorino Garay, the operator/owner of VicTours running the whale watching at Sta. Felomina tourism complex, said in separate interview that his business is entirely dependent on the municipality’s application of the ECC which is not yet issued but being processed.
The local government of Alburquerque and the Sta. Felomina Eco-tourism complex forged a Memorandum of understanding in the operations of the said complex.
VicTours and the Alburquerque entered a separate agreement on the whale watching operations, DENR said.
VicTours has started to vacate the complex as it transferred its facilities, like the paraphernalia of kayaking and snorkeling, movable cottages, to a nearby lot owned by the Malmis family, which is accordingly is already outside the protected area. This was being observed when the committee, represented by Villamor and Board Member Nathaniel Binlod, visited and inspected the area.
The committee hearing was also attended by Melicor, BMs Tomas Abapo, Jr., Nathaniel Binlod and Dr. Romulo Cepedoza. (ricobedencio@yahoo.com)
