A Notice of Violation (NOV) and stoppage of illegal construction within the Northern Negros Natural Park (NNNP) at So. Pakol, Brgy. Celestino Villacin, Cadiz City in Negros Occidental has been issued.
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources Region 6 and the Cadiz City Community ENR Office halted the construction of a two-storey concrete house owned by Florante Halipa, while the lot claimant is Francisco Villanueva, a DENR report said Wednesday, April 12.
The structure is situated within the jurisdiction of NNNP-Multiple Use Zone (MUZ), and a Protected Area Management Board (PAMB) clearance or permit from the DENR-Protected Area Superintendent (PASu) Office is required and should have been obtained prior to the construction, the DENR report said.
“By the name itself, protected areas should be protected. We at the DENR always remind the public that it is important to protect and conserve our precious natural resources. By doing so, we work hard towards the attainment of sustainable development for all,” DENR 6 Regional Executive Director Livino B. Duran said.
He said without the required legal documents, the team of CENRO Cadiz immediately installed a NOV signage which stated: No Building Permit, No SAPA, No ECC and No PAMB Clearance or Permit from the NNNP PASu office.
NNNP is located at the northwestern part of Negros Island within Negros Occidental and is home to the threatened and endangered endemic species such as the Negros bleeding heart dove, Visayan warty pig, Visayan spotted deer, and Red lauan.
Section 18 of Republic Act 11038 or the Expanded National Integrated Protected Areas System Act states that it is unlawful for any person to occupy or dwell in any public land within the protected area without clearance from the PAMB and could warrant a fine of P200,000 to P1 million and/or imprisonment of one to six years, the DENR report said.
Encroachment in the NNNP is continuously being addressed and monitored by the DENR to deter the selling and buying forestland, Duran said.*