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The Summer of 2010 - More tourists visited the Tubbataha Reefs this year compared to the 2009 dive season. The incr (Read more) |
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Tubbataha Team Visits Brooke's Point, Palawan - On June 21 to 26, 2010 the Tubbataha Information, Education and Communication (IEC) Team visited the (Read more) |
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Tubbataha Bill Signed into Law - On April 6, 2010, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo signed into law the Tubbataha Reefs Natural P (Read more) |
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TMO Expresses Thanks to its 2009 Benefactors - Tubbataha Protected Area Management Board acknowledges with extreme gratitude the following private (Read more) |
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42 nabbed for dynamite fishing at Tubbataha - PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Palawan—Forty-two fishermen from Iloilo were arrested on Saturday f (Read more) |
THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ratified on January 19 the bicameral conference committee report that will establish the Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park and create the Park Management Office. Now known as an enrolled bill (House Bill No. 3480 and Senate Bill No. 1985), it has been sent to Malacañang for President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's signature. PGMA is herself an avid admirer of the reefs and has visited the Park on several occasions.
The proposed law, authored by Palawan First District Representative Antonio C. Alvarez, Senator Pia "Compañera" Cayetano and Senator Jamby Madrigal, seek to empower the Park Management to retain its income for the development of the Park. Penal sanctions were also reinforced through the imposition of stricter penalties for illegal activities. The bill likewise features a 10 nautical mile-buffer zone (roughly 16.5 kilometers) provision aimed not only at protecting the Park itself but also its surroundings.
It will be recalled that Senator Cayetano previously sponsored a consultative forum in Puerto Princesa in 2007 to seek the views of various sectors and ensure that these were reflected in the bill. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Palawan Council for Sustainable Development, Conservation International-Philippines, WWF-Philippines, the Philippine Navy and Philippine Coast Guard, the academe - all contributed to the forging of this protected area bill, which reflects the aspirations of Palaweños for the secure future of this marine resource. The first measure for the Park's protection was originally filed during the 12th Congress in 2002 by Representative Abraham Mitra of Palawan's Second District.