PNoy wants houses in protected areas

CEBU, Philippines - President Benigno Simeon Aquino III has directed his legal counsel to draft a presidential proclamation allowing the construction of houses in protected areas like islands in northern Cebu that were affected by super typhoon Yolanda.

This was announced by former senator Panfilo Lacson, the Presidential Assistant for Rehabilitation and Recovery Office, in Cebu yesterday.

Lacson said lawyer Alfredo Benjamin S. Caguioa, the presidential legal counsel, is now studying the matter. Lacson, however, made it clear that the process will take time.

 “We will follow up. We cannot force the President. Kailangan pa talagang pag-aralan eh kasi maraming kailangang i-consider,” Lacson told reporters during the Yolanda Comprehensive Rehabilitation and Recovery Plan  Implementation and Monitoring and Validation forum at the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel.

The forum was attended by mayors of local government units hit by Yolanda.

Bantayan Island, for instance, has been declared as wilderness and protected area under Presidential Proclamation 2151. Local officials there have asked Aquino to issue a declaration so that the area will become alienable and disposable and can be utilized as relocation sites.

Lacson pointed out that most issues raised by the mayors focused on legal impediments in land acquisition since some areas identified as suitable relocations sites for Yolanda survivors are covered only by tax declarations.

The Commission on Audit requires that land titles, rather than tax declarations, should be considered in purchasing areas to be developed as relocation sites.

Lacson said his office is also asking help from the Department of Justice in addressing the concern.

“Theres a strong legal opinion from DOJ na hindi pwedeng magtayo ng bahay kung di titled. But we are now looking at some legal arguments to convince DOJ to relax somehow the strict enforcement of the no-title, no-housing policy. Baka pwedeng tax declaration pero merong minimum standards or requirements na na-fulfill like cadastral survey.. baka sakaling pumayag. We are forwarding it to DOJ to reconsider,” he added.

“We are setting up a mechanism dito sa Cebu so lahat ng mga issues doon na lang magko-converse,” Lacson said.

The mayors were also briefed on the new hub introduced by OPARR to safeguard the implementation of post-Yolanda projects. The OPARR has set up the Electronic Monitoring Platform: Accountability and Transparency Hub for Yolanda (eMPATHY) for the full accounting and monitoring of the projects.

Lacson said the hub would also determine the “laggards” in the implementation of the projects while public and officials can report irregularities and substandard projects.

 Those who want to be updated on the status of the projects, including costs, may visit empathy.oparr.gov.ph.

Lacson said the hub is still a work in progress, as some agencies, including the government’s multilateral and bilateral partners, are still uploading data.

 “It is a potent tool to rally see to it na merong accountability and transparency… If there are reports, we can send people to check,” he assured./JMO (FREEMAN)