QuestionsQuestions (Republic Act No. 8978)
The law declares it a State policy to protect and preserve Mt. Kitanglad Range, its biodiversity, and the communities’ culture and way of life in harmony with nature, ensuring biodiversity protection and sustainable and participatory development while honoring customary laws and protecting legitimate inhabitants.
It defines the PA by a detailed technical description of its boundaries (tie line and line bearings/distances). The text states the total PA area is 312,351,929.57 sq. m. = 31,235.19 has.
Buffer zones are areas surrounding the PA established by the law for extra protection where restrictions can apply and communities can assist in repelling threats. The text provides a total buffer zone bounded area of 47,270 has, less protected area of 31,235.19 has, resulting in net buffer zone area of 16,034.81 has.
Any modification due to changing ecological situations, new scientific or archaeological findings, or discovery of traditional boundaries must be made through an Act passed by Congress after full consultation with affected public and concerned government agencies.
The Protected Area Superintendent (PASu) prepares the management plan in coordination with DENR offices and local/tribal experts. The PAMB reviews, approves, and adopts it, and the Secretary of DENR must certify it if it conforms to DENR laws/rules of national application. The plan cannot be revised/modified without prior consultation with the PAMB.
Within one (1) year from the effectivity of the Act, the management plan must have been put into effect following the General Management Planning Strategy (GMPS) under RA 7586 and according to the procedure in the Act.
Two (2) years before expiration, the PASu must publish notices in a local newspaper and post them in provincial, municipal, barangay halls and three other public-frequented places for comments/suggestions. Public hearings may be conducted upon written request of any interested party. The proposed plan must be available to the public for comment, and the finalized plan must be made available for perusal at the PASu office upon PAMB approval.
Zoning must give primary consideration to traditional zones used and recognized by indigenous cultural communities, and, when applicable, zones sustainably used by tenured migrant communities for an appreciable length of time, unless such uses are detrimental to biodiversity and protection of the PA’s natural characteristics.
It is chaired by the DENR regional executive director and includes barangay captains/authorized reps, one NGO/PO representative, DA regional director, NCIP provincial officer, mayors/authorized reps of concerned towns/cities, Land Bank provincial manager, a representative of owners/operators of existing facilities, provincial planning and development officer (ex officio), representative from sangguniang panlalawigan, and one representative from each indigenous cultural community within the PA chosen using customary practices.
The PAMB issues implementing rules, sets criteria and fees for permits, adopts rules of procedure, approves the management plan and oversees PASu’s office, deputizes persons for enforcement, accepts donations and exercises accountability over funds, coordinates with agencies for aircraft flight pattern regulation, retains legal counsel for PAMB/PASu in connection with suits, and resolves/coordinates conflicts as guided by the Secretary.
The PASu prepares management and successor plans, provides secretariat for the PAMB, hires/supervises personnel as allowed by the PAMB budget, establishes partnerships with local community groups, develops park information/education/visitor programs, enforces relevant laws and assists prosecution, monitors activities for conformity with the management plan, and performs other functions assigned by the PAMB.
It fully recognizes indigenous peoples’ rights to ancestral domains and states that traditional property regimes under customary laws govern relationships within ancestral lands. It allows indigenous communities to apply for Certificates of Ancestral Domain Title (CADT) recorded like title certificates, specifies evidentiary/documentation rules to be made by DENR, protects vested customary rights, states no prescription for exercise of such rights, and provides presumptions favoring ancestral lands/customary law.
Tenured migrants are household members who have actually and continuously occupied the PA since July 1, 1987 and are substantially dependent on the PA for livelihood. They are issued a tenure instrument over occupied/cultivated areas since July 1, 1987 for 25 years renewable for another 25 years; renewal depends on evaluation by the PAMB.
Prohibited acts include hunting/destroying/trapping/disturbing/possessing wild plants/animals without PAMB permits (scientific purposes only), cutting/gathering/removing timber or forest products without permit, possessing outside the PA wild species/products taken from the PA, mineral exploration/extraction within the PA, building/maintaining roads/structures/fences/enclosures without permit, and altering/mutilating/excavating/removing/destroying/defacing boundaries, natural formations, burial grounds, religious sites, artifacts, objects of indigenous cultural communities, and affixing marks/signs on trees. The law also provides fines and imprisonment depending on the act, eviction and forfeiture for valuation-based penalties, and additional fines for violations like grazing without permit, failure to prosecute, dumping/burning waste, occupation without permit, and entry without permit.
Yes. The prohibition on constructing/maintaining roads, structures, fences, or enclosures without PAMB permit includes a proviso that structures within ancestral domains used by indigenous cultural communities need not be under a PAMB permit. Also, activities in the management plan and certified customs/traditional practices of indigenous cultural communities are allowable activities to which the prohibitions do not apply.
Exploration/exploitation/utilization of nonrenewable resources within the PA is not allowed. Energy projects (renewable or otherwise) require an act of Congress, except renewable energy up to three (3) megawatts capacity, which is exempt from such requirement.