Davao del Norte 1st District Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez has filed a bill, declaring the Pantaron Mountain Rage as a National Park and Watershed Reservation to ensure its protection and preservation.
Under House Bill No. 7501 or the proposed “Pantaron Mountain Range National Park Act”, he pushed for the declaration of the 1.26 million hectare-mountain range as a protected area categorized as a national park and watershed.
“The rich biodiversity and abundant water supply of the Pantaloon Mountain Range give us compelling reason to ensure its protection and preservation as a National Park and Watershed Reservation. No less than the Philippine Constitution mandates the protection of nature and ecology through Article II, Section 16 expressly stating that: The State shall protect and advance the right of the people to a balanced and healthful ecology in accord with the rhythm and harmony of nature,” Alvarez, a former Speaker, said in his bill’s explanatory note.
He noted that the Pantaron Mountain Range was home to one of the few remaining “old growth” primary forest areas not only in Mindanao, but in the entire country.
“Major rivers and primary water sources in Mindanao have their headwaters in the mountain range, contributing to the consistent stream of fresh water in the Mindanao region,” he said.
He said the mountain range also serves as habitat to a vast range of flora and fauna, including some rare and endemic species, such as the critically endangered Philippine Eagle, the Philippine Brown Deer, the Philippine Flying Lemur, and the Mindanao-endemic Gymnure.
“Through this measure, the entire area compassing Pantaron Mountain Range will be protected from threats of abuse and destruction and at the same time provide for sustainable development in the area for generations to come,” Alvarez said.
The contiguous mountainous landscape spans six provinces--Bukidnon, Agusan del Sur, Misamis Oriental, Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur, and Agusan del Norte, covering around 12 percent of Mindanao.
HB 7501 declares the entire Pantaron Mountain Range as National Park and Watershed Reservation.
The bill provides that the technical boundaries and area description of the Pantaron Mountain Range shall be subjected to actual ground survey and verification to be conducted by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) within 90 days after the effectivity of the proposed Act.
The Pantaron Range National Park and Watershed shall be under the joint administrative jurisdiction, supervision, and control of the DENR and the provincial government of all covered areas, the bill said. It shall be managed in accordance with the 1987 Constitution, and Republic Act No. 11038, otherwise known as the “Expanded National Integrated Protected Areas System Act of 2018”, it added.
Alvarez’s bill tasks the Secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to immediately include in its program the implementation of the proposed Act. The funding of the proposed Act shall be included in the annual General Appropriations Act (GAA).