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TSPS PAMB Site Management Unit Cebu Special Meeting

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Casino Espanol, Ranudo Street, Cebu
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May 8, 2015 @ 9:00 am
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PROCEEDINGS
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The meeting started with a prayer and singing of the National Anthem as leaded by the
9secretariat. The secretariat proceeded with the roll call of the TSPS Protected Area Management
10Board (PAMB) of the Site Management Unit Cebu.
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The secretariat introduced to the body the new appointed Protected Area Superintendent
13(PASu) of TSPS, For. Concordio M. Remoroza. PASu said that as the new PASu of TSPS, he is
14looking forward to working with the members of the SMU and he is hoping that they can make
15Tanon Strait the most beautiful protected seascape.
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PASu gave the floor to the previous presiding officer and the body decided to nominate
18for a presiding officer of the SMU Cebu special meeting.
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Atty. Czareem Joseph U. Estella, PENR Officer, Cebu Province moved a motion to elect
21Hon. Raymond Joseph D. Calderon, Mayor of the Municipality of Samboan as the presiding
22officer of SMU Cebu special meeting. It was duly seconded by Hon. Efren Gutrano Gica, Mayor
23of the Municipality of Dumanjug. There were no objections from the body. Therefore, Hon.
24Calderon was the presiding officer of the TSPS-PAMB SMU Cebu.
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Hon. Calderon asked the secretariat on how many members were present to determine if
27there is a quorum. The secretariat informed the presiding officer that there were 15 members
28present out of 28 SMU Cebu members. Therefore, quorum has been declared.
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The presiding officer called the meeting to order at 10:27 am.
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Hon. Calderon proceeded to the approval of the agenda of the meeting. He asked the
33august body if there are any objections on the agenda.
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Reading of the previous minutes was included in the agenda. Unfortunately, the
36secretariat was not able to provide a hard copy of the previous minutes for the members of the
37board.
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Mr. Randy Perez, SB Secretary of Medellin asked the presiding officer if he can have the
40floor. The PO gave the floor to Mr. Perez. Mr. Perez stated that reading and approval of the
41previous minutes has also been brought up on the previous meeting. It was his predicament that
42each member should be provided with a copy of the minutes before the meeting so that they will
43have any idea what is the minutes from the previous meeting is all about and so that they can
44reach in an agreement if they should approve it or not.
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The presiding officer asked the board for the motion to approve the agenda and deleting
47the items no. 4 and 5 which was the reading and approval of the previous minutes since the
48members were not furnished with the copies of the previous minutes. The PO also asked the
49body for the motion for the approval of the meetings agenda.
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Atty. Czareem Estella, PENR Officer wants to incorporate in the agenda the letter of
52OCEANA Philippines.
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Hon. Alan Adlawan, Mayor of the Municipality of Asturias motioned for the approval to
55delete items 4 or 5 and to incorporate the letter of OCEANA Philippines in the agenda. It was
56duly seconded by Hon Mariano Blanco III, Mayor of the Municipality of Ronda. Therefore, the
57agenda of the meeting was approved.
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The presiding officer proceeded to the next item in the agenda which was the
60presentation, discussion and endorsement for the TSPS-PAMB Executive Committee meeting,
61the reclamation project of the City Government of Toledo.
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Ms. Caroline Labrador, City Development Planning Officer of LGU Toledo presented the
64proposed reclamation project of the Toledo City from Boulevard to Tanon Strait. The proposed
65project has a proposed area of 110,000 sq.m. The project duration is about 286 days for the first
66phase and the duration for the second phase is approximately 108 days. She added that the city
67government has complied with the requirements needed for the application. They have also
68complied with the 15 days posting as required by the DENR.
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Ms. Labrador informed the body that instead of the barangay resolution, LGU Toledo
71opted to submit the City Development Council (CDC) resolution. The CDC is the highest
72planning and development council for the local government unit. They submitted the CDC
73Resolution No. 14-05 series of 2014 which was approved by the 38 barangay captains and the
74members of the non-government organizations and civil society organizations.
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Ms. Labrador continued to present the indicative plan, project impact and the economic
77impact.
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Atty. Estella asked the APASu to evaluate if the requirements are complete and what the
80recommendation of the APASu is as practiced.
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Mr. Lutherian Hernando, APASu Cebu said that as he reviewed the documents submitted
83to him by the applicant, the only lacking document is the barangay resolution and in lieu of
84barangay resolution the proponent submitted a CDC resolution. APASu Hernando recommends
85the project to be escalated to the EXECOM.
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The presiding officer asked regarding the acquisition of Environmental Compliance
88Certificate (ECC).
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APASu Hernando answered that the proponent can only acquire ECC once the proponent
91will get the approval of the EXECOM.
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Hon. Lito Narciso Creus, Mayor of the Municipality of Malabuyoc was not convinced to
94the statement of the APASu that submitting a CDC resolution will suffice. He wants to know if
95submitting a CDC resolution is in accordance to the law.
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APASu Hernando said that it is not stated in the requirement as reviewed in the
98memorandum circular that it should and will be a barangay resolution. He expressed that if
99possible the august body can make an exception or not.
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Mr. Perez said that if APASu Hernando cannot cite any order or law coming from DENR
102or any appropriate agency, based on previous practices in any applications, if it does require a
103favorable recommendation from the barangay concerned or not.
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APASu Hernando explained that it was the first time that he have encountered that a
106proponent is using a CDC resolution in lieu of the barangay resolution.
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Mr. Perez asked who comprises the City Development Council.
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APASu Hernando gave the floor to the City Planning Development Officer to answer the
111question of Mr. Perez.
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Ms. Labrador answered that the CDC is comprised of the Mayor as the chairman, the
114Congressman, and the 38 barangay captains. They submitted a certified copy of the CDC
115resolution to APASu Hernando which was is duly signed by the members of the council and the
116accredited non-government organization members. It was clarified that the barangay captain of
117Barangay Poblacion is also a member of the council.
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Hon. Creus, Mayor of the Municipality of Malabuyoc asked on what is the decision of
120the Barangay Captain of Barangay Poblacion, if he is opposed or not to the project. He also
121asked as to why there is no barangay resolution submitted to the APASu.
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APASu Hernando admitted that he does not know why Toledo City was not able to
124provide the barangay resolution. However, he did require the proponent to submit the said
125resolution.
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Hon. John Henry Osmena, City Mayor of Toledo answered to the query of the members
128of the board stating that Toledo City was not able to get a barangay resolution for the reason that
129the barangay is not functioning. Hon. Osmena added that the Barangay Captain is not doing his
130responsibility as the chief of the barangay otherwise, squandering the money of the barangay.
131That is why they have recommended that the barangay captain who was not accounted for the
132revenues of the barangay for the last 3 three years will no longer entitled to use the receipts of
133the government because he does not render any accounting.
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Hon. Osmena stated that he may convince the City Development Council to approve to
136add another barangay to cover the area and get a required barangay resolution. But pending the
137issue on the barangay resolution, he will leave it to the boards decision whether they will allow
138one barangay captain whose idea is to block the progress of the city. He would like to set this
139aside temporarily and proceed to the approval of the project on the condition that within 60 days
140the city will produce a barangay resolution, be it from a new barangay which he would like to
141see happen.
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Hon. Osmena added that the Barangay Captain is not at par with the plans of the City. He
144expressed that when the city disciplined him to turn over the revenues of the barangay to the city
145treasurer that is where the problem began.
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Atty. Estella said that he is not opposed to the project since he is also from Toledo City,
148he in fact is expecting for the development of the city. He expressed his concern that in the
149previous EXECOM meeting, there was a case that a barangay captain in Medellin recommended
150to the disapproval of the application pursuant to the barangay endorsement.
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Mr. Perez answered that the situation is quite different from the issue of the City of
153Toledo because the proponent of the certain project located in Medellin was supposed to be in
154the guise of an NGO but later on, the barangay captain noticed that the proponent put a for sale
155sign. If the SAPA/MOA of the proponent gets approved, the barangay captain is apprehensive the
156area may be sold on a higher price that is why the barangay captain withdrew the
157recommendation for its approval.
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Hon. Adlawan expressed that they are the members of SMU and they have to make their
160own decision whether to agree or not on the project of the city and if they are in for the future of
161Toledo City. For many years, the barangay captains were not asked for their recommendation but
162they asked their colleague, the mayor of the concerned LGUs where the projects are located. He
163added that he will be very happy if the reclamation of the city will be approved.
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The presiding officer wanted to clarify if there will be another application, if it will
166suffice that a barangay resolution is no longer required unless the proponent submitted a
167municipal development council (MDC) resolution or a CDC. He wanted to make clear on the
168argument on the resolution.
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Mr. Perez said that a MDC or CDC is higher compared to the barangay resolution
171because the town/city perspective is broad. He believes that it will suffice.
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Hon. Blanco suggested that if allowed by the law, why not have two (2) options either a
174barangay resolution or a MDC/DCD resolution as required for the application for SAPA.
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Hon. Calderon read the first endorsement of DENR as signed by APASu Hernando for
177record purposes.
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Hon. Adlawan expressed his concerned that in the endorsement there was no mention of
180any seagrasses, corals, and mangroves when in the letter sent by OCEANA Philippines it
181mentioned that there are possible mangroves, corals, and seagrass in the area.
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APASu Hernando assured the members of the board that there were no mangroves and
184corals in the area. He explained that the site is in between the pier which is owned by the
185government and a power plant.
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Presiding Officer, Hon. Calderon acknowledged the presence of Dir. Isabelo R. Montejo,
188Regional Director of DENR 7.
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Atty. Estella continued with the discussion on the OCEANA letter that they should have
191to reply on the issues raised by the party.
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Hon. Calderon asked the Mayor of Toledo on his reaction with regards to the letter of
194OCEANA.
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Hon. Osmena answered the questions raised by the organization. OCEANA wants to
197know if the city assessed the impact to the mangroves which the mayor clarified that there are no
198mangroves and fisherfolks in the area. There is no marine habitat since the only evident entity is
199dirt. He had also assured that the city crafted a climate change action plan, disaster and risk
200management plan, ecological waste management, and air and water quality management.
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The next paragraph in the letter is addressed to the Province of Cebu.
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Atty. Estella assured the body that the issue addressed to the Cebu Province will be
205referred to their planning office.
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Hon. Adlawan said that the PAMB only have 10 days to give a response to the letter.
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Hon. Calderon asked Dir. Montejo on his reaction on the letter form OCEANA.
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Director Montejo said that in so far as the National Government is concerned, they will
212be guided in accordance with what is in the law and the actions that will be taken will be based
213on Republic Act 7586 which is known as the NIPAS Act of 1992. He added that the body should
214not look at it as a simple matter as it may lead into a long legal battle.
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Hon. Calderon informed Dir. Montejo on the predicament the body had before his arrival.
217He asked if there are some guidelines regarding acquiring a barangay resolution for the approval
218of the SAPA application.
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Dir. Montejo answered that part of the procedure is to seek endorsement from the local
221government unit and considering that the barangay is one of the important factors in the LGU,
222thus a barangay resolution is needed and its part of the process. He cited an example wherein the
223dredging project of Tanjay City got an endorsement from the PAMB but was cancelled later on
224because it had no endorsement from the barangay and that the barangay complained on the
225project. It even went as far to the office of the President.
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Mr. Perez explained to Dir. Montejo that the APASu of Toledo cluster made a favorable
228recommendation on the project without the said barangay resolution and has also explained why
229the city was not able to acquire it. The body made an agreement that the MDC/CDC resolution
230will suffice even in the absence of an endorsement from the barangay because they also have
231been compliant with the other requirements and that it will also defeat the purpose of progress
232considering the revenues that will be collected by the city or the municipality.
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Dir. Montejo asked why the barangay captain will not endorse the project. His concern is
235that the moment they force the issue of approving the project and a party is being affected, a
236complaint usually follows.
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He added that if the APASu is saying that he is recommending an approval with the lack
239of the resolution, the APASu is violating the instruction from the DENR Secretary that the local
240government unit should be properly consulted in any projects that will be happening in the area
241particularly if there is a question of environmental issues.
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Hon. Calderon reacted that it usually is politics that is the problem. He also said that if
244the body could offer a solution or a compromise that instead of a barangay resolution, probably
245there would be a general assembly of the barangays in the municipality/city which approves the
246project. Hon. Calderon thinks that it will be considerable given that the perspective is not only
247based on a single outlook.
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Dir. Montejo responded that as part of the process, barangay consultation where a project
250is situated should be made.
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Hon. Osmea retaliate that the notice of the project has been posted in the public market
253of the City of Toledo, bus terminal, and in the office of the Mayor which is inside Barangay
254Poblacion and if the barangay captain is concerned he should have reacted or even filed a
255complaint.
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Dir. Montejo insisted that there should be a document that states whether the barangay
258captain is opposed to the project or not because the moment there will be a problem the body will
259not depend on what is talked about during the meeting without an official document even if it is
260recorded. It should be based on the document that is presented.
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Hon. Calderon asked if the body can escalate the project proposal to the EXECOM given
263the condition that proponent can provide a resolution from the barangay.
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Director Montejo answered that it is up to the SMU bodys decision to escalate a project
266or not to the next level which is the EXECOM.
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Atty. Estella motioned the approval of the application of the City of Toledo to be
269escalated to the higher level of the PAMB which is the Executive Committee subject to the
270condition that the proponent will be able to comply with the barangay consultation or resolution
271before meeting of the EXECOM.
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The motion was duly seconded by Hon. Alan Adlawan, Municipal Mayor of Asturias.
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Hon. Calderon asked the body for any further comments or objection to the motion.
276Hearing none, the application for the reclamation project of Toledo City was approved.
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Atty. Estella commented that it has been in the policy that before the board can favor an
279application there should be a technical guidance but the problem is that EMB will not issue an
280Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) unless the application is approved by the
281EXECOM. He requested if they can change the practice wherein an ECC can be first secured so
282that the members of the board can be guided on the technical issues and that there will be
283thorough deliberation on the application.
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Director Montejo answered that securing an ECC really requires endorsement from the
286board as instructed by the Secretary of EMB. DENR cannot change the policy. Dir. Montejo
287explained that ECC is not a permit but only a guideline. It does not even guarantee that once
288there is an ECC the project can be started. It is only a set of conditions that should be followed in
289the implementation of the project.
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Hon. Adlawan proceeded on his request that the PAMB should be able to reply to the
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Dir. Montejo said that the PAMB can collate but not necessarily that the PAMB will
295answer because in the letter, there are questions that are addressed to a specific office. Dir.
296Montejo added that as chairman of the PAMB, the board will acknowledge the receipt of the
297letter and gather information as much there are specific concern on specific offices and that they
298will answer the inquiry of OCEANA the moment information will be gathered.
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The august body proceeded to the next agenda which was the presentation of the Work
301and Financial Plan CY 2015 of TSPS.
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PASu Remoroza presented the TSPS budget for CY 2015 pursuant to R.A. 10629
304accruing the 75% retention for the TSPS. He explained that the disbursement of the local fund
305will not be used until the PAMB will approve the work and financial plan.
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PASu Remoroza presented to the board the TSPS office located in Malhiao, Badian and
308the staff and equipments needed of TSPS for its full operation. He also presented the possible
309activities of TSPS.
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Mr. Randy Perez moved for the motion to approve the budget presented in the work and
312financial plan of TSPS.
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Hon. Creus commented that last year there was a presentation of a WFP, if possible can
315the PASu present a report on the projects implemented in the previous year. He also asked if the
316WFP presented in the meeting is subject to audit by COA.
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PASu replied that 75% from the local fund is an additional fund which can be used
319immediately once it is approved by the PAMB because the budget request to the DBM will
320usually be attained on the last quarter of the year. He acknowledged the request of Hon. Creus to
321submit a report on the project implemented on the past year and also confirms that the WFP for
3222015 is subject to audit by the COA.
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Hon. Creus added that in giving assistance to the LGU, given that there are plenty of
325members, if there will be an equitable distribution for the assistance to the LGU.
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Assistance given to the LGUs will be first come, first serve basis as stated by PASu.
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Hon. Calderon reacted that in the previous meetings, it was proposed that 50% of the
330fund should be given to the LGU that provided most of the income to the protected area.
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Hon. Blanco suggested that since PASu Remoroza is new to the position, he should check
333the previous minutes of the meetings where there is an agreement regarding the allotting 50% of
334to the LGU with most generating income and that he should also consult to the former PASu of
335TSPS.
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PASu acknowledged the suggestion of Hon. Blanco.
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Hon. Calderon asked the body for a second motion for the approval of the WFP CY 2015
340of TSPS.
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Hon. Mariano Blanco, III seconded the motion.
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Hon. Calderon asked for any more comments, suggestions, or any objections from the
345body. Hearing none, the motion to approve the Work and Financial Plan CY 2015 for TSPS
346attaining the 75% was approved.
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The meeting was adjourned at 1:35 pm.
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355Prepared By:
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358FOR. CONCORDIO M. REMOROZA
359TSPS, PASu/TSPS PAMB Secretariat
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363Noted by:
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366ENGR. WILFREDO C. LEE
367ARD, Technical Services
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371Approved by:
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374HON. RAYMOND JOSEPH D. CALDERON
375Mayor, Municipality of Samboan/
376Presiding Officer
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