Senators stressed on Wednesday, April 3, that having a land title in a legislated protected area such as Chocolate Hills does not grant the owner absolute control regarding what should be done with it.

This was after Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) Director Asec. Gilbert Gonzales mentioned that 97.5 percent of the area in Chocolate Hills has been declared alienable and disposable during the investigation on the exploitation and defacement of certain protected areas by the Senate Committee on Environment, Natural Resources, and Climate Change chaired by Sen. Cynthia Villar.

"But I think there are doing this because they want to develop it as agricultural land...There's nothing wrong with people planting in the protected area but what you did is to establish resort and businesses in the protected area. That's a different story altogether," she said.

"Even if there is a title, if you are a protected area, you are not supposed to destroy the protected area," she added.

The Senate inquiry was prompted by the controversial construction of illegal and informal structures including swimming pools, slides, and cottages under Captain's Peak Garden and Resort in Sagbayan town and Bud Agta in Carmen town that were too close to the feet of the hills.

Chocolate Hills is considered a protected area under the Republic Act No. 11038 or the Expanded National Integrated Protected Areas Systems (E-NIPAS) Act of 2018.

Senate Pro Tempore Loren Legarda emphasized that under the said law, "due consideration shall be given to the intended use for conservation and biodiversity as well as the objectives for protected areas to keep human habitation and environmental conservation in harmony."

"Hindi po natin nilagay na gusto natin ito para sa kabuhayan na kumita ang mga tao (We did not put that we want this for livelihood purposes). Nilagay po natin (We put it for) habitation, enviromental conservation in harmony with the principal objective of biodiversity conversation,"she said.

"Maski na may titulo dahil dapat ang prayoridad ay konserbasyon at proteksyon at yan ay cinoconserve at pinoprotect dahil magugunaw na ang mundo dahil sa init, at sa baha dahil sa pagwawalang-bahala sa ating mga batas (Despite having a title, the priority should be conservation and protection and this should be done since the world is about to end because of the heat, the flooding caused by neglecting our laws),"she added.

Based on the records of the Land Registration Authority (LRA), there are about 5,652 titled properties in the area equivalent to about 7,860 hectares.

According to LRA Administrator Gerardo Sirios, he said that they agree with Legarda, that while the lands are titled and it's proof of ownership, the owners cannot exercise "absolute rights" over the property and must be subject to the restrictions of the law.

He said that they would submit the nature of the said land titles.

PAMB clearance

Under the DENR, all programs, projects and activities to be carried out in a protected area, whether an initial component of the National Integrated Protected Area System or a legislated one, must be cleared by the Protected Area Management Board (PAMB).

The PAMB clearance for Captain's Peak Garden and Resort was issued during Gonzales' time as Regional Executive Director of Region VII.

The E-NIPAS Act provides that the PAMB shall approve policies, plans, and programs, proposals, agreements, and other related documents for the management of protected areas.

However, Gonzales said in the hearing that during the PAMB meeting, he was not present to attend a different event.

According to DENR Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga, the conmposition of the PAMB under the E-NIPAS Act is vital to understanding why the management of areas such as Chocolate Hills is as such.

"The membership of the PAMB is dominated by the local interest. The DENR sits as chair, it does not vote. And the PAMB can be constituted when the DENR is absent or unavailable…by the majority of the members," she said.

"In the case of the Chocolate hills it was the barangay officials that actually approved the resolution. And that is in fact one of the longer standing policy changes we would like to propose as well as the change to the legislation in terms of construction and membership of the PAMB and what its role should be," she added.

Villar said that she agree with Loyzaga that they should change the constitution of the PAMB to give more power to those who understand the issues.

"Kasi hindi nila naiintindihan ang isyu kaya katulad nito sa Chocolate Hills ang nagbigay ng permit on behalf of the PAMB are all barangay captains (Because they do not understand the issue like here with Chocolate Hills, the ones who gave the permit in behalf of PAMB are all the barangay captains)," she added.