MANILA, (PNA) — President Benigno Aquino III has taken protective action to preserve the Busuanga Pasture Reserve in Palawan province by revoking a presidential proclamation issued under the previous administration that would effectively allow the conversion of vast tracts of pasture land into some other use.
In Proclamation No. 663 he signed on October 14, the President repealed Presidential Proclamation (PP) No. 2057 issued by former President Gloria Arroyo authorizing the state-run Philippine Forest Corp. (Philforest) to administer tourism-related developments in the Busuanga property.
The Chief Executive also transferred the administration of the pasture reserve to the Forest Management Bureau (FMB) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources from Philforest, one of five state entities earlier recommended to be abolished by the Governance Commission for Government-Owned and –Controlled Corporations (GCG).
PP 2057 was issued on May 7, 2010 and empowered Philforest to assess, evaluate and determine the possibility of redefining or modifying the use of the Busuanga land, and based on such assessment, to identify and implement other economic activities to develop the area.
Under Arroyo’s proclamation, Philforest was mandated to prioritize certain business and economic activities to boost the infrastructure development in Busuanga such as hotel, housing and accommodation, ports, airports, and other transport and communication components.
Records showed that even before PP2057 was issued, the government had already awarded contracts to 10 firms to develop portions of the pasture and grazing land in Busuanga.
However, in December 2011, the Philforest board terminated the contracts for failure of the awardees to submit their latest project development plans despite several notices. The board also discovered during periodic inspections that no activities and improvements were introduced by the firms, constituting abandonment of the project.
In revoking PP 2057, President Aquino said its provisions run counter to Proclamation 1397, issued in 1975 by then President Ferdinand Marcos, declaring the Busuanga land as a pasture reserve “withdrawn from any form of disposition, exploration or exploitation.”
President Aquino stripped Philforest of control over the Busuanga reserve and placed it under the FMB, formerly the Bureau of Forestry, which has “jurisdiction and authority over the administration, protection and management of pasture lands,” pursuant to Commonwealth Act No. 452.