Congress bicam OKs expanded protected areas bill

A bicameral conference committee (bicam) has approved a consolidated version of the Expanded National Integrated Protected Areas Systems (ENIPAS) bill.

The House of Representatives and the Senate are expected to approve the committee report on the measure before they go on their eight-week Lenten recess this weekend.

A clean copy of the bill will then be sent to President Duterte for his signature.

The ENIPAS bill expands the list of protected areas with funding in the national budget from 13 to 107.

Mindoro Occidental Rep. Josephine Sato, author of the measure in the House, said the protected areas are mostly forestlands, mountain ranges, watersheds and national parks.

“They will be closed to commercial use and exploitation, including mining and similar destructive activities,” she said.

She said the 107 protected areas cover a total area of 3.5 million hectares in 53 provinces.

She added that the measure would also increase funds for these areas from P65 million a year to P535 million.

“Increasing budget allocation for protected areas means stronger protection for our threatened plant and animal wildlife. With this, endangered wildlife will have a bigger chance of surviving, and hopefully, thriving in the future,” Sato stressed.

She said among the new protected areas is the Mt. IglitBaco National Park, which straddles Occidental and Oriental Mindoro and is home to the iconic Philippine tamaraw, also known as dwarf buffalo, which can be found only on Mindoro island.

The bicam panel was composed of Senators Cynthia Villar, Loren Legarda, Joseph Victor Ejercito and Juan Miguel Zubiri, and Representatives Arnel Ty of LPGMA, Rodel Batocabe of Ako Bicol, Orestes Salon of AGRI and Sato.