Hon. Carlos Benedicto, the Punong Barangay of Malagap, said that the wildlife species were not originally living in their area, but in a neighboring barangay of Guiling in the Municipality of Alamada. He also added, after knowing that flying foxes are settling in their sitio, he immediately declared for the protection of these flying mammals as well as its habitat.

 

As to the initial assessment by the monitoring team, the sighting of the flying foxes were more or less 50,000 colony and there is a high probability that Large Flying Fox (Pteropus vampyrus) and the endemic Golden-Crowned Flying Fox (Acerodon jubatus) which is known to be endangered within the roost.

 

Meanwhile, CENRO Midsayap will continue to monitor and conduct assessment to know more of these flying foxes and later work with partner organizations to secure their existence and maintain its vital role in our ecosystem. (With video and report from designated IO Adiel Pamikirin)

COTs are voracious predators. They prey on coral polyps and climb onto healthy coral reef, extrude their stomach on it and leaving a mat of white reef similar to the effect of coral bleaching.

 

These marine creatures are super spawners which produce millions of eggs and considered one of the most successful fertilization rates of any marine creature. They can eat up to 10 square meters or more in an hour.

 

The Sarangani Bay Protected Seascape (SBPS) Protected Area Management Office (PAMO) spearheaded the collection activity and was joined by DENR-12 Regional Office, Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) of Glan, Philippine National Police, Philippine Coast Guard, local government unit of Glan, and volunteer groups.

Said activity will be regularly done to manage the outbreak of COT in the local area and to prevent coral decline.

 

Dr. Rosalinda B. Cortez, CENR Officer of Glan, urged the public to act on this matter for their fair share of involvement as stewards of Sarangani Bay.

 

“Please help us in greening our surroundings, managing our solid wastes and effluents, and echoing our knowledge to prevent eutrophication caused by nutrient loading which are causative factors of COT outbreaks,” she said.

 

She added that through localized efforts oriented on how to gather and eradicate the COTs, the reefs can be prevented from being destroyed and the health and resiliency of Sarangani Bay can be maintained. | (With report from JCDumanon, CENRO Glan Information Officer Designate)

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Region XII in partnership with the Local Government Unit (LGU) of South Cotabato and the Registry of Deeds-South Cotabato, distributed 114 patent titles (101 residential, 12 agricultural, and 1 special patents) at Brgy. Sto. Niño, City of Koronadal, South Cotabato on October 29, 2021.

 

The said initiative is part of the government’s “Handog Titulo” program which aims to fuel progress in communities and improve the economic productivity of the people by expediting the processing and issuance of public land patents to qualified beneficiaries.

 

Provincial Environment and Natural Resource Officer (PENRO) Radzak Sinarimbo in his message said that due to the suspension of titling in Sarangani and South Cotabato Province, the processing of the land titles were delayed but because of the effort of the field office, the completion was fast-tracked.

 

“Today’s 141 titles are just an initial milestone towards more if a Memorandum of Partnership (MOPA) with LGU Koronadal is executed,” he said.

 

Meanwhile, Registry of Deeds (ROD) RD Atty. Maria Theresa D. Biongan-Pescadera congratulated the new landowners and expressed her appreciation to the DENR and Local Government Unit for including the ROD in the endeavor.

 

Brgy. Captain Hon. Noberto Bañaria expressed his gratitude for the said program.

 

“Owning a land before is just a distant dream but today we have proven that through dedication, perseverance and hard work nothing is impossible, this is through the partnership of LGU and national agencies”, Bañaria said.

 

Also in attendance are City Mayor Hon. Atty. Eliordo U. Ogena, LPDD Chief, Emily Ampatuan, CENRO Banga Abunawas Abduladsis, City Engineer Marloun C. Gumbao, City Acting Assessor Maria Rhea Connie Apostol, DENR personnel from PENRO and CENRO and LGU staffs, who assisted the in the distribution of the titles.

 

The “Handog Titulo Program” is a continued joint effort of the national government through the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Registry of Deeds, and LGUs. The program is also a part of the government’s land disposition program by virtue of Republic Act No. 10023 or the Residential Free Patent Act. (With Photos and Report from CENRO Banga)

A memorandum of partnership agreement (MOPA) was signed on Wednesday, September 16, led by DENR-12 Regional Executive Director (RED) Atty. Felix S. Alicer and Mayor Marites K. Pallasigue and witnessed by DENR-12 Assistant Regional Director (ARD) for Technical Services Engr. Mama G. Samaon, Vice-Mayor Lord Dean H. Castillo and some key officials from both parties.

Said partnership is pursuant to DAO 2011-06 “Prescribing the Guidelines for the Implementation of Public Land Titling in Partnership with Local Government Units” which was supported by the DILG Memorandum Circular No. 2011-117 with an intention to support the socio-economic agenda of President Rodrigo R. Duterte by achieving tenure security for poverty alleviation and economic development.

RED Alicer said that the main goal of this partnership is to put an end to the issuance of titles to all Alienable and Disposable Lands and eventually focus solely to the management of resources.

“This duty could have been for DENR alone to be completed but the LGU Isulan wholeheartedly expressed its intention of helping us through this MOPA,” RED Alicer said.

Mayor Pallasigue expressed her gratitude to the DENR and commended the initiative of the agency for reaching out the people and making it easy for them to title their lands.

“Thank you for making us your partner. For me, partnership simply means Sa Hirap at Ginhawa, Tayo’y Magkasama,” she said.

ARD Samaon underscored that the collaboration is not just about achieving the targets but going beyond into it.

He added that the partnership will greatly help the LGU to increase its tax collection since majority is aware that taxes over titled properties are higher than the untitled ones.

The partnership has come into realization through the Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) of Tacurong City – the DENR-12 field office which covers the Isulan as one of its area of responsibility – headed by CENR Officer Forester Larry P. Curias. With report from CENRO Tacurong City | Photos by: RJEbita