Cebu's tourist zone declared in 1981
There are several barangays in Cebu City and municipalities in Cebu which were declared as tourist zones. President Ferdinand E. Marcos in Malacañan, the residence of the President of the Philippines, issued Proclamation No. 2052, issued on January 30, 1981 entitled "Declaring the Barangays of Sibugay, Malubog, Babag, and Sirao including the proposed Lusaran Dam in the City of Cebu and the municipalities of Argao and Dalaguete in the province of Cebu as tourist zones and for other purposes."
President Marcos said these are areas that have potential tourism value after being developed into resort complexes for the foreign and domestic market.
The presidential proclamation said there was a necessity to conduct the necessary studies and to segregate specific geographic areas for concentrated efforts of both the government and private sectors in developing their tourism potential.
The proclamation mandated the Philippine Tourism Authority to identify well-defined geographic areas within the zones with potential tourism value, wherein optimum use of natural assets and attractions, as well as existing facilities and concentration of efforts and limited resources of both government and private sector may be affected and realized in order to generate foreign exchange as well other other tourist receipts.
However the proclamation makes an exemption that duly established military reservations existing within the zones shall be excluded.
Sibugay now carries an appendment in its name, which is Pung-ol. It belongs to the second district of Cebu City more known as Cebu City South District while Malubog belongs to the first district more known as the Cebu City North District. Babag belongs to the South District and Sirao of the North District.
The presidential proclamation was made relevant in a not so long land case (Department of Agrarian Reform, represented by Virgilio L. Alcomendras in his capacity as Cebu Provincial Agrarian Reform Officer, et. al. vs. Paulino Franco, September 26, 2005) when the Supreme Court cited it in its decision quoting a decision of the Secretary of the Department of Agrarian Reform, it said:
"In other words, the specific intent of Proclamation No. 2052 is the identification of the areas for tourism with the implication that the other areas within the proclamation but no longer necessary for tourism development as determined by the PTA, in this case, could be transferred for agrarian reform purposes to the DAR.
The DAR's decision which was affirmed by the Supreme Court after it was reversed by the Court of Appeals further said: "In a series of consultations with the PTA, the DAR has requested the PTA to delineate and identify the areas needed for tourism development. In a letter dated August 4, 1993, the PTA through its General Manager, Eduardo T. Joaquin, identified a total of 1,500 hectares, more or less, which are needed for tourism, 808 hectares of which are covered by a Master Plan. The letter is accompanied by a map delineating these areas.
Though this Department, as an arm of the Executive Branch, supports the programs being implemented by its partner agencies (in this particular case, improve our tourism prospects) it remains steadfast on its commitment to the lowly farmers of the land. Inasmuch as the PTA has clearly delineated 808 hectares of land for tourism purposes, backed by a master plan, this Department is inclined to believe that is more than enough for the implementation of its project and is well within the capability to develop.
This office is not inclined to exempt from CARP coverage the entire 1,500 hectares as intimated by the general manager of the PTA since a substantial portion of this area is not supported by a master plan that would show that indeed they need the entire 1,500 hectares for its purposes. The remaining hectares would better serve the purposes of agricultural production and enhancement of the livelihood of the farmers in the area."
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