Sabang structures inside coastal zone ordered demolished

The Puerto Princesa Underground River Protected Area Management Board (PPUR PAMB) has ordered the demolition of some 38 business establishments found to be encroaching beyond the coastal easement in violation of the Philippine Water Code. Park Superintendent Elizabeth Maclang said they are giving the establishments concerned three months to voluntarily demolish their structures. She said the decision was made last week by the PAMB, in line with the national government’s ongoing crackdown on environmental violations in key tourism sites in the country including El Nido and Coron in Palawan. Last March, the PAMB’s Project Development Evaluation Committee conducted a survey of the 30-meter coastal easement along Sabang Beach, and initially informed the affected business establishments they will have to move back beyond the easement boundary. Maclang said the City government will undertake the demolition for those establishment owners who fail to move on their own after the three-month ultimatum. She explained however that the 88 households dwelling in a timberland-classified area at Campsite, Purok Dalampasigan 2 in Sitio Sabang has been considered a “special case.” “They are for further evaluation because removing them there will require a relocation area and road right-of-way setback,” she added. These families, initially only numbering 35, have occupied the area since 1993. The previous City administration relocated them there to give way for the construction of Sabang wharf. The PPUR management, however, is wary that their continued occupation of the beachfront area could affect the water quality of Sabang beach. Maclang said they initially identified the alienable and disposableclassified land a few kilometers away from Sabang and a 7-hectare barangay site as possible relocation areas. The plan, she added, is to turn the relocation site into an eco-village featuring a backyard garden landscape that could be showcased as a new tourist destination within the park.