Eight protected areas in the Cagayan Valley region (Region 2) will soon have its own Protected Area Management Office (PAMO) as mandated by the Republic Act 11038, or the Expanded-National Integrated Protected Areas System Act.
The move aims to boost the protected areas management, and biodiversity conservation and protection in the region.
Regional Executive Director for the Cagayan Valley Region Antonio A. Abawag said the eight PAMOs are for the legislated protected areas, namely: Batanes Protected Landscapes and Seascapes; Palaui Island Protected Landscape and Seascape; Peñablanca Protected Landscape and Seascape in Cagayan, Tumauini Watershed Natural Park; Northern Sierra Madre Natural Park in Isabela; Casecnan Protected Landscape, Salinas Natural Monument; and Bangan Hill Natural Park in Nueva Vizcaya. These areas cover almost 800,000 hectares.
The DENR will also hire technical personnel to ensure the day-to-day operation of the office.
In June 2018, President Duterte signed into law RA 11038 which amended RA 7586 otherwise known as the National Integrated Protected Areas System Act of 1992.
The amendatory law mandated the creation of a PAMO to be headed by a permanent protected area superintendent “who shall supervise the day-to-day management, protection and administration of the protected area.
It also orders the provision of a sufficient number of support staff to assist in the management of the area.
During the meeting with DENR key officials in Region 2, Abawag instructed field officials having jurisdiction of the said protected areas to facilitate the construction of office buildings for the operationalization of the PAMO.