Save boayan island on the media,
San Vicente Palawan
Just some remarks on the Inquirer article of
April 23, 2009
by Redempto Anda:
here
According to Mayor Gonzalez, "Their lease is going to expire in a few years..." If Mayor Gonzalez, or AVG as he is 'fondly' called, read the contracts or even deigned to look at them, he would have noticed that those few years are a good 27 years which they are trying to ignore but which we are fighting for legally.
He also said, "It's a done deal." Does that mean we should just leave without asserting our rights over the lease contract? Leave that gorgeous gem to be destroyed and trashed by over development? They talk about giving jobs, but giving jobs to whom? Certainly not the fisherfolk who live on Boayan. Already there are a few cramped relocation areas in San Vicente where residents from other areas have been moved, is this what the fisherfolk have in store for them? Of course if all goes as they plan, there may be no more fish left to catch.
Does it also mean that the Municipality of San Vicente disregards the authority of the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development (PCSD) tasked with giving clearances for the Strategic Environmental Plan (SEP) of Palawan, or the Environmentally Critical Areas Network zoning plans, or the various PCSD and other government resolutions concerning wildlife, disregards the DENR that is supposed to have authority over timberland, disregards the Philippine Forestry Code? All this in total disregard for the environment of Palawan which belongs to the people of the Philippines and indirectly to the world. In other words, climate change and global warming are completely and totally ignored.
Remarks on the Manila Times SUNDAY STORIES
By Marlen V. Ronquillo
When all the bulldozers
come smashing in
April 26, 2009
here
Again I reiterate, our leases on the properties on Boayan Island do not expire for another 27 years which gives us time to fight for that Marine and Forest Reserve and hopefully it will be enough time to make the LGU understand, that is if climate change does not get to us first. Till then they will have to bodily remove me and probably send in the Marines! I will appeal to every court in the land.
Remarks on the Inquirer Article
On Target
March toward progress
By Ramon Tulfo
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 00:31:00 04/28/2009
here
For the information of Mr. Tulfo I am no longer being evicted from the island
as according to timberland laws of the DENR, I do have tenure having been there
for over 20 years aside from the fact that I do have a lease contract which
is a civil contract between individuals. I also did apply for the Special Land
Use Permit (SLUP) as Mayor Gonzalez so kindly adviced me to do, but then the
Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) in Roxas, Palawan
did not act on it. In fact I have been in communication with them since 2002
and they have so conveniently been ignoring me. Do you wonder why? I do.
the EXPAT NEWSPAPER
By Elga D. Reyes
Campaign to Save Boayan Island Continues
May 17, 2009
here
Japanese contribution ( no copyright )
2009/08/04
here
JCA sides with San Vicente (municipality)
on Boayan island controversy
in the Palawan Sun 2009/05/11
here
an answer
The following is my letter of response to the letter of Mr. Jose ‘Pepito’
Alvarez.. I have forwarded a copy to Mr. Redempto Anda as well. Thank you very
much.
Sincerely,
Ditchay Roxas
Ms. Letty Jimenez-Magsanoc
The Editor-in-Chief
Philippine Daily Inquirer
Manila
May 15, 2009
Dear Madam:
I write you in response to the letter of Don Jose ‘Pepito’ Alvarez dated April 24, 2009 and addressed to Mr. Redempto Anda of your Southern Luzon Bureau. I write not merely to defend my position in the public eye but mainly to clarify certain points that Don Pepito has so kindly raised with regards to my particular case which may be of interest to the public. I thank you for giving me the honor and the opportunity to do so. I would also like to thank Don Pepito for taking precious time from his busy schedule to personally delve into our problems, I did not think he was concerned nor involved. Now I know better.
First of all, contrary to the insinuations of Don Pepito in his letter to you, I am not fighting against “big business” per se, only big indiscriminate development particularly in Daplac cove, Boayan Island, nor have I “declare[d] a fight against the Municipio”. It is the Municipio of San Vicente that issued an endorsement to the Palawan Cove Development Corporation, towards their application for SEP clearance from the PCSD, knowing full well that I was leasing portions of the property being applied for by Palawan Cove. My lease agreements with the Tax Declaration holders are still valid for another 27 years at least. This fact was pointed out to Mayor Gonzalez on numerous friendly occasions and to Mrs. Grace Ong Gobing, spokesperson and negotiator for the Palawan Cove Development Corporation who came to speak to me apparently at the behest of Don Pepito.
So as a Filipino, I am fighting for my rights to be respected vis-a-vis the lease contracts that I hold. Again contrary to the insinuations of Don Pepito, I do not “aspire to acquire” the land as I cannot bring it with me to the grave. What I do aspire for is that Daplac Cove, perhaps one of the most unique and beautiful in San Vicente, be protected and left open to the public in its natural state for future generations to come as a Forest and Marine Reserve; that the habitats of the already vulnerable Tabon Birds, Hornbills, kingfishers and other creatures, remains intact and they are allowed to thrive.
However, I must agree with Don Pepito, and he has pointed this out to me on several occasions where I had the honor of meeting him, that the natural forest cover on Boayan has sadly “dissipated and [is] in pretty bad shape” and yes, I have seen the forest burning before my very eyes and have been powerless against it. It is a problem all over the province, but the question is what has the Municipality of San Vicente been doing all these years?
Daplac bay, May 2009 ,
and yet the hills continue to burn, and I am still powerless against it
I understand too from the locals that the Mayor and his group have acquired the entire ridge flanking Daplac Bay (maybe over a hundred hectares) and yet the hills continue to burn, and I am still powerless against it (see above) . I do not know if Mayor Gonzalez is aware of this. One day over lunch with Don Pepito, he casually said that he would replant the forests of Boayan and I was full of hope.
However, I must admit in all honesty and humility, the areas I have been leasing have actually increased forest cover as they have not been burned in the last 20 years, and like Don Pepito, perhaps, no, definitely on a smaller scale and without the machinery of billions of pesos to back me, I too have planted trees. In fact, just last year ironically, Don Pepito himself gave me a few Apitong seedlings to plant in the area I lease. But I certainly have no pretensions at being an “environmental warrior” as Don Pepito puts it, only a simple citizen with limited means, trying to make my voice heard above the din, trying to fight against an injustice being committed while trying my best to care for my environs.
The last point which Don Pepito so avidly underlines in his letter is my supposed “commercial utilization” for “…tourism business that caters almost exclusively to those who could afford a dream private vacation in a secluded island.” He goes on to say “that she has been running a resort business in Boayan Island and her room rates are not at all cheap”. Both Don Pepito and Mayor Gonzalez have honored us with their presence in the house on a few occasions, they have seen for themselves the two bedrooms (actually one and a half) with the one adjoining toilet / shower room in the front which I do rent out occasionally during the dry season to friends and friends of friends. In the back I have a small room with a small adjacent bathroom which I use as storage, office, library and bedroom. I did not think it was against the law to invite friends over for their vacations and who, in exchange help me with costs of maintenance, expenses and salaries for the upkeep of the place. This is deemed normal as I am in no position to subsidize vacations of friends. As he says, my “room rates are not at all cheap”, they can range from zero pesos to a thousand dollars a day depending on the whims of my benefactors. Both Don Pepito and Mayor Gonzalez have been aware of this fact for many years, and it was in fact the Mayor himself who told me that a business permit was not necessary for such a practice, yet today they are attacking me for it. Both of them have been frequent visitors to the house in the past and I do not think they have ever been presented with a bill.
Furthermore, the house is almost unusable in the rainy season as it takes the wind in full force having the sea on both sides, and it is very difficult to reach when the sea is rough. So yes, we do have guests from time to time during the dry season for friends and friends of friends, and a few honeymooning couples to complete the cycle who are kind enough to share the burden with me, or kind enough to make a donation to our simple endeavors, but a commercial enterprise it certainly is not. Don’t you think, during the 20 odd years I have been there, if it was a successful tourism business and if I was such a shrewd business person, then I should have increased the number of houses, to increase my income? One or two more houses such as we have, running on solar and wind energy, would not have compromised the environment nor the “dream private vacation in a secluded island.” Furthermore, if it was only a run for the money, then I should have accepted the I5 million pesos that Mrs. Grace Ong Gobing of Palawan Cove was offering when she spoke to me. It was money that I could have used to “acquire land” whether in San Vicente or elsewhere.
In answer to Don Pepito’s accusation that I “apply the law selectively” and “should stop behaving like she is above it.” I say, “No, Don Pepito, I am certainly not above the law, no one is above the law, not you, nor I, nor Mayor Gonzales; not even the Municipality is above the law. I have nothing to hide.”
As for the house and the structures that go with the house, it was built in 1989 by contractors from Pagdanan, the very company of Don Pepito which supplied all the wood and which built San Vicente. We were informed then that there was no building permit necessary in San Vicente and that anyhow they would take care of it. Naive, trusting and rather innocent at that time, we just took it for granted. In fact some years ago, when I put in the back room, I did go to the municipality in quest of a permit but the Municipal Engineer then told me point blank that he would not issue a permit and it was useless to apply because his relatives, the tax declaration holders were against it. So I said fair enough despite the fact that there is a clause in our contract that allows me to do so, he would not even consider that. I just went ahead and built it as it is only a basic wooden structure of 10 or 12 square meters that can be taken apart plank by plank. In fact, the whole house is a basic wooden structure that can be taken apart with no permanent scars left to the environment, that is the beauty of low-impact construction.
So I can see now that Don Pepito has become a scrupulous legalist and probably has all permits for all his businesses applied, passed and approved in no time at all, with no hindrances. He is definitely lucky to have such a powerful and efficient machinery. However, with all that is ongoing in San Vicente now, there is definitely no lack of spice in the stew. The public is now reassured that the billions of pesos spent, being spent or going to be spent for tourism development in San Vicente will be a model of transparency and legality. The public is now certain that not an ounce of earth or stone will be moved or removed, or trees chopped or forest denuded in San Vicente without the proper clearances and permits from PCSD or the DENR; that Mayor Gonzales will ensure that none of the environmental laws or codes of the land will be broken.
Thank you Don Pepito for being so concerned and conscientious.
Sincerely,
Ditchay Roxas
BantayKalikasan uploaded
a new video
Rape in San Vicente Palawan
here
A group of media people from the national dailies in the Philippines recently
visited the town of San Vicente
Comment on the post "JCA sides
with San Vicente (municipality) on
Boayan controversy", in
the Palawan Sun 2009/05/11
Author: Bob Calategas
here
Time and again, we Palawenos in particular and the entire Filipino
people as a whole, are witnesses to this kind of scenario. That of a
David, facing of Goliath in very pressing issues between environmental
protection and perceived economic development promised by big time
resort developers, honor and integrity versus profit and greed etc.
It must be interesting to note the observation of the people affected
that only politicians and business groups get the most from all these
kinds of deals at the detriment of the very people uprooted from their
homes whose right to their ancestral domain were even ignored by big
business. I could only appreciate the guts of Ms. Roxas to face off
with the Don. If only there were more Ms. Roxases who could have
voiced out the generational rights of future Filipinos when those
leaders, technocrats and dirty politicias manipulated the selling of
prime lots (both International and local lots) owned by the government
like the Ropongi Property in
Tokyo (sold for a song), the Union Square property in San Francisco
(also for a swan song), the Fort Bonifacio, Clark Zone, Nichols
airbase, Amari Reclamation project that were worth Billions of
dollars, whose proceeds could no longer be traced, then we could have
been a country at par or even better than our neighbors. But the
problem is, most of us are too passive and very comfortable in our
comfort zones that we just let the rape of our country happen under
our very noses. Again, I thank Ms. Ditchay Roxas and I hope and pray
that this issue will make all concerned and pro-active Filipinos to
unite and tell all those leaders, technocrats and politicians (past,
present and future) who plundered, manipulated and raped the resources
of this very rich country that we the Filipino people are aware of
their motives and that there is payback for every peso stolen,
plundered or manipulated from the country's recources.
--------------------------------
not directly concerning Boayan, but giving a taste of what's going on In San Vicente Palawan , please read
Mountain quarry of tourism developer stopped
Philippine Daily Inquirer
by Redempto Anda:
here
22:01:00 05/15/2009
Palawan gov’t files cases
vs developer, mayor
Philippine Daily Inquirer
by Redempto Anda:
Filed Under: Mining and quarrying, Graft & Corruption
here
First Posted 00:20:00 06/09/2009
Palawan mayors sued for leveling mountain
The Philippine Star
by Jarius Bondoc
here
First Posted June 19, 2009 12:00 AM
BantayKalikasan uploaded
a new video
Rape in San Vicente Palawan
here
A group of media people from the national dailies in the Philippines recently
visited the town of San Vicente
Land of compromise
Conrado R. Banal III
Philippine Daily Inquirer
Inquirer Money - COLUMNS
here
June 30, 2009
------------------------
San Vicente: The 'next
big thing' in Philippine tourism?
The PhilippineStar
By Alfred A. Yuson
July 12, 2009
" ...But a robust
brava! for Ditchay, who’s fighting back the best way she knows, appearing
in environmental forums, writing in provincial publications and leading a crusade
by way of the Internet ..."
here
about green tourism
3rd Philippine International Tourism
Fair
Forum on Green Tourism
June 27, 2009
Cebu City
Paper by: Ditchay Roxas
Save Boayan Island
Updates as of March 19 :
The on line petition has1592 total signatures with 1248
confirmed.
The "Save Boayan" facebook group has now a total of 4042 member