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5 21 PENRO Davao del SurIn the early week of May, the PENR Office of Digos City in Davao Del Sur held another leg of orientation for Special Use Agreement for Protected Areas (SAPA) applicants for the Mt Apo Natural (MANP).

It formed part of a series of information education and communication initiatives of the office which aims to ensure that the rules and regulations governing special uses within protected areas including the MANP are implemented pursuant to the DENR Administrative Order No. 2007-17 and 2018-05.

One of the aims of said order is to optimize the special uses of protected areas consistent with the principles of sustainable development and biodiversity conservation in cooperation with the stakeholders. It comes with securing a few permits such as an LGU Clearance, Free Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC), Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) and a Protected Area Management Board Resolution among others.

Presiding the meeting was Regional Executive Director of the DENR XI and Protected Area Management Board (PAMB) Chair Bagani Fidel A. Evasco who emphasized that during his term, corruption is on top of his non-negotiable policies- directing that DENR employees shall keep SAPA application process and related transactions clean, legal and transparent.

The director also reminded the resource users to be compliant to the law otherwise consequences will occur which include demolition of illegal structures and eviction as the illegal occupants as what was implemented by the inter-agency task force in Boracay Island in Malay, Aklan, Region VI.

The PENR Officer of Davao Del Sur and concurrent Protected Area Superintendent (PASU) of Mt Apo Natural Park, Alberto N. Bandiola also emphasized that the DENR will help the resource users in the best possible ways as long as it is within the metes and bounds of the laws that govern protected areas and the environment as whole.

Forming part of a series of Informative lectures for the resource users --the Special Use Agreement for Protected Areas (SAPA) is a twenty-five-year lease agreement for Multiple Use Zone establishments within the Mt Apo Natural Park. To date there are three SAPAs awarded by the DENR within the DAVAO Region. Two (2) are for the sustainable energy projects of the Energy Development Corporation, So. Ilomavis, Kidapawan City and One (1) for Hedcor Inc., Sibulan, Davao Del Sur. There are also several SAPA applications for government related projects in the Region awaiting approval in the DENR Central Office.| πΉπ‘Ÿπ‘Žπ‘›π‘˜ π΅π‘’π‘’π‘›π‘Žπ‘“π‘™π‘œπ‘Ÿ, 𝑃𝐸𝑁𝑅𝑂 π·π‘Žπ‘£π‘Žπ‘œ 𝑑𝑒𝑙 π‘†π‘’π‘Ÿ