Press Release
June 25, 2007

Pia on Taal spa issue:
"How did private individuals get land titles to a volcano?"

Senator Pia S. Cayetano today said the brewing row over the planned construction of a health spa right at the crater of Taal volcano all comes down to one basic question: How come private individuals were able to obtain land titles to the volcano, which is supposedly part of the public domain?

"There's no question that putting up a permanent structure, like a resort spa within Taal's danger zone, should not be allowed by the government because it will surely bring disaster to both nature and human beings," said Cayetano, Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Environment and Natural Resources.

"But I believe the bigger issue here is how come private individuals were able to acquire land titles to the volcanowhich should be public land? This has allowed commercial interests to encroach on Taal which is classified as a protected area under our laws," she added.

Reports quoting the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) revealed that the volcano is titled to at least four families: Laurel, Mayuga, Manigbas and De Jesus.

She continued: "Taal is part of our country's rich heritage and natural wonders as one of the world's smallest active volcanoes. It's disturbing enough to find out that the volcano actually belongs to just four families, not to the Filipino people. And now comes news that a portion of it is being leased, literally, to foreigners."

Cayetano urged the DENR to hasten its review of the spa's environmental clearance certificate (ECC) to settle the controversy once and for all.

"In our desire to promote tourism, we should always consider the environmental impact, and no location should be given clearance unless there's an environment impact assessment and a master development plan. Otherwise before you know it, all these commercial establishments will sprout and bring more environmental hazards."

She added that the DENR's Land Management Bureau, along with the Land Registration Authority under the Department of Justice, must explain how these four families became "volcano owners."

"The Taal issue also highlights the problems in our land titling system like the questionable titling of public lands and overlapping titles, to name a few. It is for this reason that I will push for the proposed Land Administration Reform Act (LARA) in the 14th Congress," she concluded.

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