Protection of Mimbilisan Watershed in Misamis Oriental

Policy and purpose mandate

The State adopts as policy to protect and advance the right of the people to a balanced and healthful ecology in accord with the rhythm and harmony of nature.
The State secures the perpetual existence of all native plants and animals within the Mimbilisan Watershed for present and future generations through its establishment as a component of the NIPAS under the category of protected landscape.
The State promotes participation of local communities in the management of the Mimbilisan Watershed and protects the way of life of people living in and around the protected area.
The Act requires that management and implementation be consistent with the protection and rehabilitation of the Mimbilisan watershed and water resources, the conservation and restoration of biological diversity, and the needs and interests of qualified tenured migrants for present and future Filipino generations.

Defined protected landscape boundaries

The Mimbilisan Protected Landscape consists of the lands and boundaries described by the Act’s Tie Line and the enumerated boundary segments.
The boundary description fixes geographic points using bearings and distances stated in the Act, including segment distances such as 310.00 meters, 200.00 meters, 633.00 meters, and other listed distances.
The protected landscape has a total land area of six hundred sixty thousand square meters (660,000 sq.m.) or sixty-six hectares (66 has.), more or less.
The area is located within the territory of Barangay Mapua, Municipality of Balingoan, Province of Misamis Oriental.

Core definitions under the Act

“Biological diversity” (biodiversity) refers to the wealth of life forms on earth, including plants, animals, microorganisms, the genes they contain, and the ecosystems they form.
“Buffer zones” are identified areas outside the boundaries of and immediately adjacent to designated protected areas that need special development control to avoid or minimize harm to the protected area.
“General management plan” is the basic long-term framework for managing the protected area and serves as guide for annual operations plan and budget.
“General Management Planning Strategy (GMPS)” guides formulation of site-specific management plans, including buffer zones.
“Indigenous peoples” refers to people sharing common bonds of language, customs, traditions, and other distinctive cultural traits who have since time immemorial occupied, possessed, and utilized a territory.
“Integrated Protected Areas Fund (IPAF)” is a trust fund for financing projects within a protected area.
“Management manual” is the individual management plan containing basic background information, field inventory, assessment of assets and limitations, regional interrelationships, objectives, division into management zones, boundary review, and management programs.
“National Integrated Protected Areas System (NIPAS)” is the classification and administration of all designated protected areas established under Republic Act No. 7586 to maintain essential ecological processes, preserve genetic diversity, ensure sustainable resource use, and maintain natural conditions.
“Protected Area (PA)” is identified portions of land and water set aside due to unique physical and biological significance, managed to enhance biological diversity and protected against destructive human exploitation.
“Protected landscape” is an area of national significance characterized by harmonious interaction of man and land while providing opportunities for public enjoyment through recreation and tourism within the normal lifestyle and economic activity of the area.
“Protected Area Management Board (PAMB)” is the site-based decision-making body for planning, resource protection, and general administration of the area in accordance with the approved management plan.
“Protected Area Superintendent (PASu)” is the chief operating officer of DENR for the Mimbilisan Protected Landscape.
“Secretary” refers to the Secretary of the DENR.
“Tenured migrants” are persons who have actually and continuously occupied an area for five years prior to designation as a PA and are solely dependent there for subsistence under Republic Act No. 7586 or the NIPAS Act.

Governance and management structure

Management of the Mimbilisan Protected Landscape is vested in the PAMB, which serves as the highest policy-making body for the protected area.
Through the PAMB, the management structure promotes partnership, participation, cooperation, and coordination with local communities and civil society organizations.
A Protected Area Superintendent’s Office is established for the management, protection, and administration of the PA.
The PASu is supported by existing DENR personnel and is accountable to the RED of DENR-Region X and the PAMB.

Protected Area Management Board composition

The PAMB for the Mimbilisan Protected Landscape is composed of:
- the Regional Executive Director (RED) of DENR Region X as chairman;
- the mayors of Balingoan and Talisayan (or their authorized representatives);
- the barangay captains with territory inside and adjacent to the PA (or their authorized representatives);
- the Regional Director of DA-Region X (or authorized representative);
- the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Officer (PENRO) of Misamis Oriental;
- the Community Environment and Natural Resources Officer (CENRO) of Gingoog City;
- two NGO/PO representatives concerned with PA management, chosen from among the two municipalities with territory inside the PA and duly accredited by the municipality they represent; and
- the Provincial Planning and Development Officer (PPDO) of Misamis Oriental as ex-officio member, endorsed by the provincial governor.
Each PAMB member serves a five-year term and represents and carries the vote of their sector in matters within the PAMB.
Government officials and agency representatives serve according to the term of office of their principal, unless sooner terminated by that principal.

PAMB powers and coordination duties

The PAMB must issue rules and regulations to implement Republic Act No. 9494 and to promote the policy declaration in the Act.
The PAMB must establish criteria and set fees for issuance of permits for activities regulated by the Act or the approved management plan.
The PAMB must identify the buffer zone for the PA.
The PAMB must adopt rules of procedure for business conduct, including creating committees to which its powers may be delegated.
The PAMB must approve the management plan and oversee the office of the PASu.
The PAMB may deputize interested individuals for enforcement of laws, rules, and regulations adopted under the Act.
The PAMB may accept donations, approve proposals for funding and budget allocation, and exercise accountability over funds accruing to the PA.
The PAMB must coordinate with appropriate agencies to regulate aircraft flight patterns over the area by setting acceptable latitudinal limits and emissions.
The PAMB must retain legal counsel, either permanent or temporary, to provide legal assistance to the PAMB and the PASu staff when sued in connection with duties under the Act.
The Secretary of the DENR exercises authority over the PAMB to ensure it acts within the scope of its powers and functions.
If there is a conflict between DENR administrative orders of national application issued pursuant to the NIPAS Act and the PAMB rules, the PAMB must notify the Secretary, who resolves the conflict.
The LGUs of Balingoan and Talisayan participate through representation in the PAMB.
LGUs retain power to adopt ordinances over the territory covered, giving due consideration to PA management objectives.
If an unresolved conflict remains between LGU ordinances and PA management objectives within the PAMB, the Secretary resolves the issue with the concerned LGU.

PASu office functions and management planning

The PASu office supports management, protection, and administration through the existing DENR personnel structure.
The PASu must:
- prepare management and successor plans as required by the Act’s procedures;
- provide secretariat support to the PAMB;
- hire and supervise necessary personnel to support operations consistent with the budget made available by the PAMB;
- establish productive partnership with local communities and groups interested in PA goals;
- develop and implement park information, education, and visitor programs;
- enforce relevant laws, rules, and regulations and assist in prosecution of offenses; and
- monitor all activities within the PA for conformity with the management plan.
The PASu must prepare a management plan in coordination with appropriate DENR offices, LGUs, local communities, and experts on tribal communities experienced in the area’s cultures.
The management plan must be reviewed, approved, and adopted by the PAMB, and then certified by the Secretary so it conforms to laws and rules of national application.
The management plan may not be revised or modified without prior consultation with the PAMB.
Within one year from effectivity, the management plan must be put into effect under the NIPAS framework and the procedure in the Act.
The management plan must contain, among others: period of applicability; key management issues; goals and objectives; site management strategy; major management activities including enforcement, habitat and wildlife management, sustainable use management, infrastructure development and maintenance, fire and pest control; zoning; and visitor management programs.
The PASu must prepare successor plans two years before expiration of existing plans.
For successor plans, the PASu must publish notices for comments and suggestions in a newspaper of local circulation, and post notices in the provincial, municipal, and barangay halls, and in three other areas frequented by the public.
Public consultations on successor plans may be conducted upon written request of any interested party.
The proposed successor plan must be made available to the public for comment during the comment period, and the final version must be made available for public perusal at the PASu office.
Zoning must give primary consideration to cultural, economic, and social practices consistent with sustainable management principles by tenured migrants and nearby communities for an appreciable length of time, unless such uses are detrimental to biodiversity conservation and the protection of the PA’s natural characteristics.
The management plan must be prepared in a language understandable in the area, plainly written, and available for perusal by the general public anytime at the PASu office.

Allowed facilities, resource restrictions, and exemptions

Existing facilities allowed to remain within the PA may be charged a reasonable fee by the PAMB through a memorandum of agreement with the facility owner.
All income derived from such fees must accrue to the Mimbilisan Protected Area Fund.
For man-made facilities managed by private entities, user fee rates are determined by the private entity but must be comparable to fees charged for similar facilities in a PA.
For all other facilities, user fees are determined in consultation with the PAMB.
Exploration for and exploitation or utilization of non-renewable resources within the PA is not allowed.
Energy projects—renewable or otherwise—are permitted only through an act of Congress.
Exploitation of renewable energy up to three megawatts capacity is exempt from the act-of-Congress requirement.
Certain ancestral-domains-related structures used by indigenous cultural communities are exempt from the permit requirement for constructing or maintaining roads, structures, fences, or enclosures within the PA.
The prohibitions in the Act do not include activities identified in the management plan and other measures necessary for protection, preservation, and PA management undertaken by the PASu or other persons deputized by the PAMB.
Certified customs and traditional practices of indigenous cultural communities are allowable activities over which the prohibitions do not apply.

Prohibited acts and penalties

The Act imposes the penalties prescribed for theft under Articles 309 and 310 of the Revised Penal Code on any person found guilty of:
- hunting, destroying, trapping, disturbing, or possessing anywhere within the PA any wild plant or animal or products derived therefrom without a permit from the PAMB, except that such permit is for scientific purposes necessary to promote PA management;
- cutting, gathering, collecting, or removing timber or forest products without permit, except that such permit is for scientific purposes necessary for PA management;
- possessing outside the PA any wild plant or animal or products derived therefrom which came from the PA;
- mineral exploration or extraction, drilling, or prospecting for minerals within the PA;
- constructing or maintaining any kind of road, structure, fence, or enclosure without a permit from the PAMB, except that structures within ancestral domains used by indigenous cultural communities do not need a PAMB permit; and
- altering, mutilating, excavating, removing, destroying, or defacing boundaries, marks, or signs; natural formation; burial grounds; religious sites; artifacts; objects belonging to indigenous cultural communities; and other objects of natural and scenic value; or affixing marks or signs on trees.
A fine of not less than PHP 100,000 nor more than PHP 500,000, and/or imprisonment of not less than one year nor more than five years, applies to:
- grazing and/or causing livestock to graze or raising poultry within the PA without a permit from the PAMB; and
- any public officer or officer of the law who, in dereliction of the duties of office, maliciously refrains from instituting acts necessary to prosecute violators or tolerates commission of offenses under the Act, with conviction carrying perpetual disqualification from public office.
A fine of not less than PHP 100,000 but not more than PHP 500,000, and/or imprisonment of not less than one year but not more than five years, plus restoration and rehabilitation of damage, applies to any person who:
- violates rules and regulations in the management plan or by the PAMB or agreements reached before the PAMB in the exercise of its adjudicative functions;
- dumps, burns, or disposes of any waste products, vegetation, or materials within the PA to the detriment of inhabitants, plants, or animals therein;
- uses motorized equipment without a permit except motorized vehicles within the national highway, provincial road, or other public thoroughfare traversing the park, provided these thoroughfares were legally constructed;
- occupies any portion of land inside the PA without a permit from the PAMB, provided the occupation lasts more than ten (10) days in the particular portion of the PA; and
- enters the PA without a permit from the PAMB.
Persons who induce or conspire with another person to commit any prohibited act, or cause their workers to commit such act, are liable in the same manner as the actual offender.
The valuation of damage from prohibited acts must take into account biodiversity and conservation considerations and aesthetic and scenic values.
Conviction for acts punishable under the Act carries eviction from the PA and forfeiture in favor of the government of transportation facilities, structures, building materials, equipment, devices, and weapons used in committing the offense.
The LGU responsible for the arrest of a violator and confiscation of materials receives a fifty percent (50%) share from proceeds of disposition of confiscated materials; the remaining fifty percent (50%) accrues to the Mimbilisan Protected Area Fund.

Special prosecutors and criminal case assignment

Within thirty (30) days from the effectivity of the Act, the Department of Justice (DOJ) designates a special prosecutor to whom all cases of violation of laws, rules, and regulations in the PA are assigned.
The special prosecutor must coordinate with the PAMB and PASu, and must assist in training wardens and rangers in arresting and prosecuting violators.
The PAMB may appoint a special private prosecutor on a case-to-case basis to assist the public prosecutor.

Mimbilisan Protected Area Fund

A trust fund named Mimbilisan Protected Area Fund is established to finance projects for the PA.
All income generated from the operation of the PA or the management of wild flora and fauna in the PA accrues to the fund.
The fund’s income includes visitors/tourists fees; fees from permitted sale and export of flora and fauna and other resources from the PA; proceeds from registration and lease of multiple-use areas including tourism concessions; contributions from industries and facilities directly benefiting from the PA; and other fees and income from operation of the PA.
The fund may receive grants, donations, and endowments from domestic or foreign sources for purposes related to its functions, subject to the fund’s deposit and disbursement requirements.
The fund must be deposited as a special account in the National Treasury.
Disbursements must be made solely for protection, maintenance, administration, and management of the system, and for duly approved projects endorsed by the PAMB and compliant with existing accounting and budgeting rules and regulations.
The fund may not be used to cover personal services expenditures.
LGUs must continue imposing and collecting fees they traditionally collected, including business permits, property tax, and rentals of LGU facilities.
LGUs may charge add-ons to fees imposed by the PAMB, with add-ons determined based on LGU contribution to maintenance and protection of the PA.

Appropriations and liberal construction

The Secretary of the DENR must immediately include implementation of the Act in the Department’s program, and the needed funding must be included in the annual General Appropriations Act.
The Act must be construed liberally in favor of protection and rehabilitation of the watershed and water resources and conservation and restoration of biological diversity.
The Act provides suppletory effect for Republic Act No. 7586 in implementing the Act.

Transitory, separability, and repeal rules

Upon effectivity, the DENR must cease issuing concessions, licenses, permits, clearances, compliance documents, or any other instrument that allows exploitation and utilization of resources within the PA until the management plan has been put into effect.
If any part or section of the Act is declared unconstitutional by the courts, the remaining parts and sections continue in effect under the separability rule.
All laws, rules, and regulations inconsistent with the Act are modified accordingly under the repealing clause.
The Act does not resolve or serve as basis for resolving any existing boundary conflict between the municipalities of Balingoan and Talisayan.