Senator Cynthia Villar on Tuesday filed a resolution requesting the appropriate committee to investigate reports of alleged exploitation or defacement of protected areas in the country.

Villar, who chairs the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, filed a Senate Resolution amid the rising reports over the construction of illegal structures within the country’s declared protected areas, like the Upper Marikina River Basin in Rizal province, Siargao Island, Bohol, and the Mt. Apo Natural Park. 

She lamented there might be more unreported violations and exploitation in other protected areas, leading to their degradation.

“It is noteworthy that the Philippines has a total of 248 protected areas, of which 114 have been formally legislated, and there is concern that these areas may not be receiving the necessary level of protection to preserve their integrity as protected areas,” Villar said in a resolution. 

Earlier, Senators Nancy Binay, Raffy Tulfo, and JV Ejercito called for an inquiry into the conditions of the declared protected areas in the country. 

This came after Binay flagged two resorts illegally operating “at the foot” of Chocolate Hills—a world heritage site of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization and declared a protected area in 1997.

On Monday, Tulfo disclosed that similar structures were illegally built in the buffer zones of Mt. Apo Natural Reserve in Digos City. 

He mentioned the presence of business establishments, clearing operations of the areas, land conversion for settlements, water pollution, introduction of foreign exotic species, presence of large communities, increasing population, and destructive livelihood in the Mt. Apo Natural Park. 

Villar said there appears to be a deficiency in implementing policies, laws, and regulations for the declared protected areas in the country.

“It is deemed essential to examine the management practices, the issuance of tenurial agreements, and the adequacy or absence of protection mechanisms provided to each of the country's protected areas, to ensure that the original intentions and wise foresight in their establishment are not undermined, thereby securing a sustainable future for the present and future generations,” she added. 

Further, Villar also raised concerns about the occupation and unauthorized constructions of the Socorro Bayanihan Services Inc. within the Siargao Island Protected Landscape and Seascape. 

Last year, the Senate flagged the SBSI’s violations of the terms and conditions of its Protected Area Community-Based Resource Management Agreement with the government. 

The same concern was flagged by the Senate last year.

Villar likewise wants to get updates on the reported violations of environmental laws in the Upper Marikina River Basin Protected Landscape. 

These violations, including illegal logging, quarrying, and construction of illegal structures, allegedly started in 2020 and threatened the integrity of the critical watershed. 

She said there’s a need to determine the concerned agencies’ management practices, the presence of tenurial agreements, and the protection mechanisms accorded to the country’s protected areas.