Question & AnswerQ&A (Republic Act No. 11933)
Republic Act No. 11933 is titled the "Sicogon Island Wildlife Sanctuary Act."
It declares the policy of the State to secure for present and future generations the perpetual existence of all native plants and animals by declaring protected areas under the National Integrated Protected Areas System (NIPAS).
Two (2) parcels of land situated within Sicogon Island, Municipality of Carles, Province of Iloilo, are declared as the SIWS.
All lands of the public domain within SIWS shall fall under the classification of national park as provided for in Article XII, Section 3 of the Constitution.
Wildlife sanctuary refers to an area which assures the natural conditions necessary to protect nationally significant species, groups of species, biotic communities or physical features of the environment which may require specific human manipulations for their perpetuation.
The PAMB is composed of the DENR Regional Executive Director as Chairperson, the Governor of Iloilo or representative, Senators registered in Iloilo or representatives, District Representative or representative, Mayor of Carles or representative, barangay chairpersons with jurisdiction, regional directors of various government agencies, representatives from NGOs, Indigenous cultural communities/Indigenous peoples (ICCs/IPs), an academic institution representative, and a private sector representative.
The PAMB oversees management of the protected area, approves policies and plans, adopts operational manuals, recommends deputations for law enforcement, allocates financial resources, sets fees, issues conflict resolution rules, monitors performance of personnel, and recommends policy changes.
The PASu supervises day-to-day management, prepares and implements management plans, enforces laws, provides secretariat services to PAMB, collects fees, and performs duties assigned by the PAMB and DENR.
It is a trust fund established for financing projects and management of the SIWS and NIPAS, with revenues coming from fees, leases, and contributions, where 75% of the revenues are retained by the PAMB for local use and 25% is allocated to the National Treasury for NIPAS projects.
If any section or provision of the Act is held unconstitutional or invalid, the remaining sections or provisions not affected shall remain in full force and effect.