Marcos signs law declaring Paoay Lake a protected area

A new law has declared Paoay Lake in Ilocos Norte a protected area to ensure its conservation, protection, management, and rehabilitation.

Republic Act 12230, signed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on August 4, said the Paoay Lake Protected Landscape (PLPL) was “in recognition of the richness of biological resources, both flora and fauna, that are native and distinct to Paoay Lake as well as their aesthetic and ecological importance.”

Ilocos Norte is the hometown of the President. 

According to the law, it is the State’s policy to secure the perpetual existence of all native plants and animals for Filipinos' present and future generations through the declaration of protected areas under the National Integrated Protected Areas System (NIPAS).

The law mandated the creation of the Protected Area Management Board (PAMB).

Some of its members are the regional executive director of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), the provincial governor, senators who are Ilocos Norte residents, the representative of the congressional district that includes the PLPL, and the mayor of Paoay.

The Board's responsibilities include overseeing the management of the PLPL, approving policies, plans, and programs for the area’s management, allocating financial resources for the implementation of the management plan, and setting fees and charges.

The Protected Area Management Office (PAMO) will supervise daily management, protection, and administration of the PLPL.

The law also established the Paoay Lake Protected Landscape Integrated Protected Area Fund (PLPL-IPAF) to support projects and operations.

Funding will be provided by the permitted sale and export of flora and fauna and other resources from the PLPL, the leasing of multiple-use areas, contributions from businesses and facilities that directly benefit from the PLPL, and other fees collected from the PLPL operations.

The fund may be augmented by grants, donations, and endowments from various domestic and foreign sources and shall be deposited as a special account in the National Treasury. —VBL, GMA Integrated News