DENR: Residents of wiped-out houses on Siargao shore to be relocated

Siargao residents whose houses near the shore were wiped out by Typhoon Odette will be relocated to a protected area, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said Tuesday.

DENR Undersecretary Benny Antiporda made the announcement during the second part of President Rodrigo Duterte's Talk to the People address aired on Tuesday morning.

"On the report on the Siargao inspection and operation dated December 20 and 24, 2021, the local government of Siargao headed by Governor Francisco Tinio Matugas and the DENR agreed that the people residing in the coastal areas will no longer be permitted to return [because] it’s for their safety po," Antiporda told the President.

"Sinisiguro po natin na hindi na po muling mangyari ito pong nangyaring pagwasak sa mga bahay nila dahil sa lakas ng bagyong ito ‘no po (We want to make sure that their houses won't be wiped out by a typhoon again). The DENR will distribute parcel of lands, per the instruction of our Presiden, to qualified tenured migrants under the Protected Area Community-Based Resource Management Agreement (PACBRMA).

A PACBRMA, under DENR Administrative Order (AO) issued back in 2004, is defined as an agreement entered into by and between the DENR and the organized tenured migrant communities or interested indigenous peoples in protected areas and buffer zones.

Under the same AO, PACBRMA's term is good for 25 years and renewable for another 25 years.

The same AO defines tenured migrant communities as group of persons who, after  the  survey  of  the protected  area occupants, "were verified to have been actually and continuously occupying a portion of the protected area for a period of at least five years before the establishment of the same as such in accordance with the National Integrated Protected Areas System (NIPAS)Act and are solely dependent therein for subsistence."

"For the information of the public, Siargao is a declared protected area. We can apply PACBRMA," Antiporda added.

The President responded by saying that all idle government lands should be distributed to those in need to be relocated, typhoon victims or otherwise. 

Siargao island is part of Surigao del Norte province.

Surigao del Norte governor Matugas earlier said that 99% of Siargao's population has been affected by typhoon Odette. —NB, GMA News