Question & AnswerQ&A (TRNP PARK RULES 01-08)
The official title is the 'Rules and Regulations for the Entry and the Conduct of All Activities in the Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park (TRNP) and World Heritage Site.'
The purpose is to prescribe procedures and guidelines for entry and conduct of tourism and all activities in TRNP to ensure conservation objectives are met, pursuant to the TRNP Management Plan approved by the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development (PCSD).
Authorized entry into the park is considered a privilege, not a right, and entrants must act responsibly to maintain economic, biological, educational, socio-cultural, and scientific values of TRNP. The park is a no-take zone.
'Commercial diving operations' refers to activities involving the delivery of scuba diving gears and services to tourists, local or foreign, for a fee within the TRNP.
Entrants are persons or vessels entering TRNP with or without a permit, including Visitors (tourism, research, official business), Crew (employees with seaman’s papers), and Unauthorized Entrants (those entering without a permit).
Foreign divemasters and/or crew must submit certification cards, alien employment permits, and passports.
Vessel entry fees are: 100 GT and below - Php 3,000; 101-200 GT - Php 4,500; 201 GT and above - Php 6,000.
Prohibited acts include: (a) Commercial diving operations by vessels less than 25 gross tons; (b) Grounding or beaching; (h) All forms of fishing, recreational or consumptive.
Violators may be fined Php5,000 to Php500,000, exclusive of damages and rehabilitation costs; permits may be cancelled; repeated violations may lead to expulsion, a one-year operating ban, or permanent bans; boat operators and owners are solidarily liable.
A penalty of Php12,000 per square meter of damage, regardless of the bottom relief of the area, shall be imposed.