Malapascua Island Town asks Capitol to give back island

CEBU, Philippines - The Municipality of Daanbantayan wants to retake control of the famous Malapascua Island from Capitol.

This is the latest twist to the rift between former allies Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia and Daanbantayan Mayor Ma. Luisa Loot.

Loot approved a resolution passed by the Sangguniang Bayan requesting the Province of Cebu and other concerned government agencies to reassign the task of being the lead agency in the management, administration, and implementation of the Malapascua Island Eco-tourism Development Plan (MIEDP) to the municipality.

Other agencies requested are the regional offices of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Department of Tourism, Department of Interior and Local Government, Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board, and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources.

Gwen reacts

Garcia said that the matter shall be taken up by the Technical Working Group, which came up with the MIEDP.

Garcia said that it cannot just immediately be acted upon as there is an existing memorandum of agreement.

“The province cannot unilaterally just decide on that. I think they should know better than that,” Garcia said.

MIEDP projects

Some of the projects covered by the MIEDP were the implementation of the solar powered street lamps program to make Malapascua Island a showcase for renewable energy.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will grant US $270,000 or about P12 million for the Malapascua solar-powered street lamps.

The Province already bid out the health center project and started the work on a circumferential road.

The construction of a port in Malapascua Island was already awarded to a contractor.

The MIEDP Task Force was also able to implement the 20 meters salvage zone resulting to the demolition of some commercial cottages and structures.

Some of the plans were opposed by Logon (Malapascua) Barangay Captain Rex Novabos, which prompted him to resign as member of the committee overseeing the eco-tourism development plan of the island.

On May 2008, Novabos resigned after his suggestions opposing a proposed ban on motorcycles and the building of establishments built in the 20-meter salvage zone in the island were not heeded.

Novabos said his resignation was to prevent chaos in the event that the total ban on the use of motorcycles in the island and the demolition of the houses within the 20-meter salvage zone are implemented.

He told the task force’s technical working committee that it would be difficult should they decide to implement their development plan for the island, even during the early stages of their planning.

 Since then, the MIEDP Task Force stopped implementing the projects in the island.

Times have changed

Last August 2003, during the term of then governor, now Deputy Speaker and 2nd District Rep. Pablo Garcia, the Municipality of Daanbantayan had executed and entered into a memorandum of agreement defining the respective roles and responsibilities of said government agencies for the effective and efficient implementation of MIEDP.

Garcia is the father of the current governor.

As stipulated in the agreement, the Municipality of Daanbantayan was tasked as the lead unit or agency in the management, administration and implementation of MIEDP.

On May 2006, some of the provisions of the agreement were amended particularly on the roles and responsibilities of the Province of Cebu and the Municipality of Daanbantayan with respect to the administration, management and implementation of said plan.

In the amendments, the Province of Cebu became the lead unit or agency in the management, administration and implementation of the plan.

The reason was due to the limited manpower, resources and capabilities of the municipal government to perform the tasks required.

The town officials expressed in their resolution that the circumstances prevailing at the time of the amendment to the agreement are no longer existing.

“The Municipality of Daanbantayan has now the manpower, resources and capabilities to effectively and efficiently assume the responsibility of being the lead agency in the implementation of the MIEDP,” the resolution reads.

The officials also pointed out that in the spirit of local autonomy and the fact that Malapascua Island is within the territorial jurisdiction of Daanbantayan, thus the municipality’s desire to reassume the task.

Garcia and Loot used to be allied, but their relationship turned sour after the 2010 elections when the latter did not support the governor’s programs and projects like the Pasigarbo sa Sugbo and the Suroy-Suroy Sugbo.

Loot asked out of One Cebu Party of Garcia, however, her son, Provincial Board Member Sun Shimura, is still allied with the governor. —/NLQ (FREEMAN)