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DENR distributes residential free patents to 98 residents of Negros Occidental;DENR to fund establishment of clonal facility at USM and PEMSEA formalizes international headquarters in Philippines

Posted on September 1st By Department of Environment and Natural Resources


Ninety-eight (98) residents of two barangays in Murcia, Negros Occidental were issued residential free patents by the local office of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in coordination with the local government unit.

Community Environment and Natural Resources Officer (CENRO) for Bacolod City Joan Nathaniel F. Genrangaya led the distribution of the patents, which cover a total area of three hectares, along with Murcia Mayor Andrew Montelibano and other local officials.

According to Genrangaya, the latest patent distribution of 30 free patents in Bry. Cansilayan with total area of 8,609 square meters and 68 patents in Bry. Buenavista covering 2.038 hectares, brought to 135 the total number of free patents distributed in the municipality of Murcia this year.

Last February 14, some 37 residential free patents were also distributed in Brgy. Cansilayan by the DENR under its “Handog Titulo” Program.

Mayor Montellibano expressed appreciation to officials and employees of the CENRO for facilitating the processing of land titles, which according to him, is “part of his dream to leave a legacy to the people of Murcia.”

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Plans for the establishment of a clonal facility at the University of Southern Mindanao (USM) in Kabacan, Cotabato is now on its final stages.

DENR-Region 12 Executive Director Adeluisa G. Siapno said the memorandum of agreement on the partnership was already signed by USM President Dr. Jesus Antonio G. Derije and forwarded to DENR Secretary Ramon J. P. Paje for signature.

Siapno said that once the MOA is perfected, the DENR will obligate the amount of P3.5 million in favor of USM for the construction of the clonal facility.

“The clonal facility will have state-of-art technologies as the primary intention is to produce high quality seedlings for planting under the National Greening Program.  And to ensure high survival rate, the seedlings that will be produced in the clonal facility will come from superior indigenous forest tree species such as lauan, molave, and tanguile, ” Siapno explained.

Aside from the monetary support, the DENR has also committed under the agreement to extend technical assistance to USM, particularly on the scientific approach to clonal nursery operation.  “We will not only provide funding support, but we will also capacitate our counterparts and transfer the appropriate technology to them,” Siapno stressed.

USM Pres. Derije welcomed the partnership.  “In the past, our participation in the reforestation program of the DENR was very minimal, hence, a sense of ownership was never felt”, Derije said.

He also said he will mobilize the students enrolled under the National Service Training Program (NSTP) to assist in all the activities related to the greening program.

The MOA provides that the university shall allocate an area within its sprawling campus on which the clonal nursery shall be constructed. It will undertake mass production of cloned quality planting materials for distribution to beneficiaries identified by the DENR field offices in the region.

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The Partnerships in Environmental Management for the Seas of East Asia (PEMSEA) recently inked an agreement with the Philippine government formalizing the location of its international headquarters in the country, specifically at the compound of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in Quezon City.

The headquarters agreement (HQA) was signed between Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Secretary Albert del Rosario and PEMSEA Executive Director Raphael Lotilla at the DFA in Pasay City. The signing was witnessed by officials of the DFA and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), led by Undersecretary Analiza Teh and representing DENR Secretary Ramon J. P. Paje,  as well as other PEMSEA officials.

Paje said that the DENR welcomed the agreement and committed the agency’s continued support to PEMSEA. “PEMSEA’s operations within the DENR compound allows not only us but the Philippine government in general, to continue working closely with the PEMSEA and all its partners in ensuring the protection and development of our marine and coastal resources within the East Asian region,” he said.

The collaboration with the PEMSEA shall also ensure the continued implementation of DENR programs geared towards the long-term social and economic development of the country’s coastal and marine areas, he added.

PEMSEA is a partnership arrangement among 11 country and 20 non-country partners, starting out as project-based but transformed in 2006 as a regional mechanism to implement the Sustainable Development Strategy for the Seas of East Asia (SDS-SEA). It operates mainly through the PEMSEA Resource Facility, which provides secretariat and technical services to the partnership council.

The HQA affirms the 2007 pact between the DENR and the PEMSEA on the provision of office facilities within the DENR compound, where it had been housed since 1993.

The agreement also affirms another agreement in 2009 among eight of the PEMSEA country partners including the Philippines, which recognized the partnership’s international legal personality. The other countries that signed the agreement were Cambodia, China, North and South Koreas, Indonesia, Laos, and Timor-Leste.

In the Philippines, the PEMSEA and the DENR have been implementing integrated coastal management programs to address the challenges of governance of coastal areas. Its project demonstration areas are located in Batangas, Balayan and Tayabas Bays in Batangas; Guimaras Island in Western Visayas; and in Bataan.

Along with the Global Environment Fund, the United Nations Development Programme, and the International Maritime Organization or GEF//UNDP/IMO, the PEMSEA and the Philippine Government also launched the Manila Bay Environmental Management Project in 2000 to plan, develop and manage the Bay’s marine and coastal resources.

The PEMSEA hosts the East Asian Seas Congress, a ministerial forum and an international conference held every three years to track the progress of the SDS -SEA implementation. The last congress was held in 2009 in the Philippines, while the next would be this August in Korea.

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