List of National Parks in the Philippines Pursuant to RA 11038

Pursuant to  REPUBLIC ACT No. 11038 also known as the Expanded National Integrated Protected Areas System Act of 2018," the following are hereby established as national parks aside from areas that were already declared as protected areas by acts of Congress: 

Region		Protected Area	Province	Area (Has.)
1	1	Kalbario-Patapat Natural Park	Ilocos Norte	3,903.19
	2	Libunao Protected Landscape	Ilocos Norte	47.15
	3	Bessang Pass Natural Monument/Landmark	Ilocos Sur	581.05
	4	Bigbiga Protected Landscape	Ilocos Sur	142.87
	5	Lidlidda Banayoyo Protected Landscape	Ilocos Sur	1,042.29
	6	Salcedo Protected Landscape (formerly Sta. Lucia Protected Landscape)	Ilocos Sur	196.33
	7	Agoo Damortis Protected Landscape and Seascape	La Union	10,774.68
	8	Manleluag Spring Protected Landscape	Pangasinan	1,938.83
2	9	Palaui Island Protected Landscape and Seascape	Cagayan	8,048.57
	10	Peñablanca Protected Landscape and Seascape	Cagayan	118,653.67
	11	Tumauini Watershed Natural Park	Isabela	6,509.38
	12	Salinas Natural Monument	Nueva Vizcaya	5,966.05
	13	Casecnan Protected Landscape	Quirino, Nueva Vizacaya, and Aurora	86,246.77
3	14	Amro River Protected Landscape	Aurora	6,431.30
	15	Dinadiawan River Protected Landscape	Aurora	3,366.54
	16	Simbahan Talagas Protected Landscape	Aurora	2,284.30
	17	Talaytay Protected Landscape	Aurora	3,598.31
	18	Bataan Natural Park	Bataan	20,004.17
	19	Roosevelt Protected Landscape	Bataan	950.43
	20	Masinloc and Oyon Bay Protected Landscape and Seascape	Zambales	7,558.00
NCR	21	Las Piñas-Parañaque Critical Habitat and Ecotourism Area (LPPCHEA), also known as Las Piñas-Parañaque Wetland Park	Las Piñas City and Parañaque City	181.63
	22	Ninoy Aquino Parks and Wildlife Center	Quezon City	23.85
4A	23	Mts. Palay-Palay-Mataas-na-Gulod Protected Landscape	Batangas and Cavite	3,972.70
	24	Taal Volcano Protected Landscape	Batangas and Cavite	62,292.16
	25	Buenavista Protected Landscape	Quezon	287.24
	26	Maulawin Spring Protected Landscape	Quezon	183.15
	27	Quezon Protected Landscape	Quezon	1,042.85
	28	Hinulugang Taktak Protected Landscape	Rizal	3.58
	29	Pamitinan Protected Landscape	Rizal	609.15
	30	Upper Marikina River Basin Protected Landscape	Rizal	26,125.64
4B	31	Marinduque Wildlife Sanctuary	Marinduque	9,758.71
	32	Apo Reef Natural Park	Occidental Mindoro	15,799.23
	33	Mt. Calavite Wildlife Sanctuary	Occidental Mindoro	18,172.69
	34	Mts. Iglit-Baco Natural Park	Occidental and Oriental Mindoro	106,655.62
	35	Mt. Guiting-Guiting Natural Park	Romblon	15,515.22
5	36	Mt. Mayon National Park	Albay	5,327.15
	37	Ticao Burias Pass Protected Seascape	Albay, Masbate and Sorsogon	414,244.00
	38	Abasig-Matogdon-Mananap Natural Biotic Area	Camarines Norte	5,918.312
	39	Bicol Natural Park	Camarines Sur	5466.35
	40	Buhi Wildlife Sanctuary	Camarines Sur	1,620.65
	41	Lagonoy Natural Biotic Area	Camarines Sur	443.63
	42	Malabungot Protected Landscape	Camarines Sur	147.71
	43	Mt. Isarog Natural Park	Camarines Sur	10,090.89
	44	Catanduanes Natural Park	Catanduanes	48,924.09
	45	Bongsanglay Natural Park	Masbate	518.90
	46	Bulusan Volcano Natural Park	Sorsogon	3641.47
6	47	North west Panay Peninsula Natural Park	Aklan and Antique	12.009.29
	48	Sibalom Natural Park	Antique	6,778.44
	49	Northen Negros Natural Park	Negros Occidental	70,826.16
7	50	Albirquerque-Loay-Loboc Protected Landscape and Seascape	Bohol	1,165.51
	51	Chocolate Hills Natural Monument	Bohol	13,994.95
	52	Panglao Island Protected Seascape	Bohol	2,445.08
	53	Rajah Sikatuna Protected Landscape	Bohol	10,964.64
	54	Talibon Group of Island Protected Landscape and Seascape	Bohol	6,446.31
	55	Camotes Island Protected Landscape and Seascape	Cebue	1,436.31
	56	Olango Island Wildlife Sanctuary	Cebu	1,382.29
	57	Tañon Strait Protected Seascape	Cebu, Negros Occidental and Oriental	534,589.05
	58	Apo Island Protected Landscape and Seascape	Negros Oriental	691.40
	59	Balisasayao Twin Lakes Natural Park	Negros Oriental	8,016.05
8	60	Cuatro Islas Protected Landscape and Seascape	Leyte	11,407.46
	61	Lake Danao Natural Park	Leyte	2,244.16
	62	Mahagnao Volcano Natural Park	Leyte	340.82
	63	Guiuan Marine Resource Protected Landscape and Seascape	Eastern Samar	66,725.26
	64	Biri Larosa Protected Landscape and Seascape	Northern Samar	32,284.14
	65	Calbayog Pan-as Hayiban Protected Landscape	Samar	5,067.93
	66	Samar Island Natural Park	Samar, Eastern Samar and Northern Samar	335,105.57
9	67	Basilan Natural Biotic Area	Basilan	4,545.99
	68	Aliguay Island Protected Landscape and Seascape	Iablea City	1,189.36
	69	Turtle Islands Wildlife Santuary	Tawi-Tawi	242,958.29
	70	Great and Little Sta. Cruz Island Protected Landscape and Seascape	Zamboanga City	1,827.16
	71	Pasonanca Natural Park	Zamboanga City	12,102.08
	72	Jose Rizal Memorial Protected Landscape	Zamboanga del Norte	474.82
	73	Murcielagos Protected Landscape and Seascape	Zamboanga del Norte	100.40
	74	Selinog Island Protected Landscape and Seascape	Zamboanga del Norte	959.41
	75	Siocon Resource Reserve	Zamboanga del Norte	855.59
	76	Dumanquillas Bay Protected Landscape and Seascape	Zamboanga del Sur	26,112.21
	77	Mt. Timolan Protected Landscape	Zamboanga del Sur	2,244.54
	78	Buug Natural Biotic Area	Zamboanga Sibugay	1,261.46
10	79	Mt. Kalatungan Range Natural Park	Bukidnon	22,225.11
	80	Mt. Timpoong Hibok-Hibok Natural Monument	Camiguin	2,203.39
	81	Mt. Inayawan Range Natural Park	Lanao del Norte	4,236.19
	82	Baliangao Protected Landscape and Seascape	Misamis Occidental	315.50
	83	Initao-Libertad Protected Landscape and Seascape	Misamis Oriental	921.02
	84	Mt. Balatukan Range Natural Park	Misamis Oriental	8,437.86
11	85	Mabini Protected Landscape and Seascape	Compostela Valley	7,292.62
	86	Mainit Hot Spring Protected Landscape	Compostela Valley	1,422.63
	87	Aliwagwag Protected Landscape	Davao Oriental and Compostela Valley	10,261.06
	88	Mati Protected Landscape	Davao Oriental	884.46
	89	Pujada Bay Protected Landscape and Seascape	Davao Oriental	20,873.43
12	90	Saragani Bay Protected Seascape	General Santos City and Sarangani	210,887.69
	91	Mt. Matutum Protected Landscape	South Cotabato and Sarangani	13,947.00
13	92	Agusan Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary	Agusan del Sur	40,940.96
	93	Siargao Island Protected Landscape and Seascape	Surigao del Norte	283,974.77
	94	Tinuy-An Falls Protected Landscape	Surigao del Sur	4,321.75

 

Protected Areas in the Philippines: Definition, Classifications, Prohibitions, Issues and Challenges

Republic Act No 7586 or the National Integrated Protected Areas System Act of 1992 and Republic Act No 11038 or the Expanded National Integrated Protected Areas System (E-NIPAS) Act of 2018 define protected areas as “portions of land and water set aside by reason of their unique physical and biological significance, managed to enhance biological diversity and protected against destructive human exploitation”. (https://bmb.gov.ph/protected-area-development-and-management/philippine-protected-areas/). 

Setting up protected areas is a nature-based solution that helps maintain ecosystem integrity and reduce climate extreme impacts, “this initiative … can contribute to the climate resilience of the Philippines,” which is among the countries considered highly vulnerable to climate change, says Lourdes Tibig, climate science adviser at the nonprofit think tank Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities. (https://news.mongabay.com/2023/01/for-philippines-unprotected-hotspots-new-conservation-window-beckons/).

As of 2022, the Philippines has 248 protected areas, including seven newly legislated ones, covering 7.8 million hectares (3.2 million acres), or about 15.4% of the country’s land area and 1.4% of its territorial waters. Though scientists have identified 228 key biodiversity areas in the Philippines, only 91 are currently part of the country’s network of protected areas. (https://news.mongabay.com/2023/01/for-philippines-unprotected-hotspots-new-conservation-window-beckons/)

The following are the categories of protected areas are hereby established pursuant to section 3 of Republic Act No 7586:

a.         Strict nature reserve - is an area possessing some outstanding ecosystem, features and/or species of flora and fauna of national scientific importance maintained to protect nature and maintain processes in an undisturbed state in order to have ecologically representative examples of the natural environment available for scientific study, environmental monitoring, education, and for the maintenance of genetic resources in a dynamic and evolutionary state;

b.         Natural park - is a relatively large area not materially altered by human activity where extractive resource uses are not allowed and maintained to protect outstanding natural and scenic areas of national or international significance for scientific, educational and recreational use;

c.         Natural monument - is a relatively small area focused on protection of small features to protect or preserve nationally significant natural features on account of their special interest or unique characteristics;

d.         Wildlife sanctuary -  comprises an area which assures the natural conditions necessary to protect nationally significant species, groups of species, biotic communities or physical features of the environment where these may require specific human manipulations for their perpetuation.

e.         Protected landscapes and seascapes - are areas of national significance which are characterized by the harmonious interaction of man and land while providing opportunities for public enjoyment through the recreation and tourism within the normal lifestyle and economic activity of these areas;

f.          Resource reserve - is an extensive and relatively isolated and uninhabited area normally with difficult access designated as such to protect natural resources of the area for future use and prevent or contain development activities that could affect the resource pending the establishment of objectives which are based upon appropriate knowledge and planning;

g.         Natural biotic areas - is an area set aside to allow the way of life of societies living in harmony with the environment to adapt to modern technology at their pace;

h.         Other categories established by law, conventions or international agreements which the Philippine Government is a signatory.

Meanwhile, the following are the prohibited acts within the protected area pursuant to section 20 of Republic Act No. 7586 as amended:

"(a) Poaching, killing, destroying, disturbing of any wildlife including in private lands within the protected area;

 

"(b) Hunting, taking, collecting, or possessing of any wildlife, or by-products derived therefrom, including in private lands within the protected area without the necessary permit, authorization or exemption: Provided, That the PASU as authorization or exemption only for culling, scientific research , the exemptions provided under Section 27(a) of Republic Act No. 9147 (Wildlife Resources, Conservation and Protection Act) or harvests of nonprotected species in multiple-use zones by tenured migrants and IPs;

 

"(c) Cutting, gathering, removing or collecting timber within the protected area including provate lands therein, without the necessary permit, authorization, certification of planted trees or exemption such acts are done in accordance with the duly recognized practices of the IPs/ICCs for subsistence puposes;

 

"(d) Possessing or transporting outside the protected area any timber, forest products, wildlife, or by-products derived therefrom which are ascertained to have been taken from the protected area other that exotic species, the culling of which has been authorized under an appropriate permit;

 

"(e) Using any fishing or harvesting gear and practices or any of their variations that destroys coral reefs, seagrass beds or other marine life and their associated habitats or terrestrial habitat as may be determined by the DA or the DENR; Provided, That mere possession of such gears within the protected areas shall be prima facie evidence of their use;

 

"(f) Dumping, throwing, using, or causing to be dumped into or places in the protected area of any toxic chemical, noxious or poisonous substance or nonbiodegradable material, untreated sewage or animal waste or products whether in liquid, solid or gas state, including pesticides and other hazardous substances as defined under Republic Act No. 6969, otherwise known as the "Toxic Substances and Hazardous and Nuclear Waste Control Act of 1990' detrimental to the protected area, or to the plants and animals or inhabitants therein;

 

"(g) Operating any motorized conveyance within the protected area without permit from the PAMB, except when the use of such motorized conveyance is the only practical means of transportation of IPs/ICCs in accessing their ancestral domain/land;

 

"(h) Altering, removing, destroying or defacing boundary marks or signs;

 

"(i) Engaging in 'kaingin' or, any manner, causing forest fires inside the protected area;

 

"(j) Mutilating, defacing, destroying, excavating, vandalizing or, in any manner damaging any natural formation, religious, spiritual, historical sites, artifacts and other objects of natural beauty, scenic value or objects of interest to IPs/ICCs;

 

"(k) Damaging and leaving roads and trails in damaged condition;

 

"(l) Littering or depositing refuse or debris on the ground or in bodies of water;

 

"(m) Possessing or using blasting caps or explosives anywhere within the protected area;

 

"(n) Occupying or dwelling in any public land within the protected area without clearance from the PAMB;

 

"(o) Constructing, erecting, or maintaining any kind of structure, fence or enclosure, conducting any business enterprise within the protected area without prior clearance from the PAMB and permit from the DENR, or conducting these activities in a manner that is inconsistent with the management plan duly approved by the PAMB;

 

"(p) Undertaking mineral exploration or extraction within the protected area;

 

"(q) Engaging in commercial or large-scale qaurrying within the protected area;

 

"(r) Establishing or introducing exotic species, including GMOs or invasive alien species within the protected area;

 

"(s) Conducting bioprospecting within the protected area without prior PAMB clearance in accordance with existing guidelines: Provided, That in addition to the penalty provided herein, any commercial use of any substance derived from nonpermitted bioprospecting within a protected area will not be allowed and all revenue earned from illegal commercialization thereof shall be forfeited and deposited as part of the I{AF;

 

"(t) Prospecting, hunting or otherwise locating hidden treasure within the protected area;

 

"(u) Purchasing or selling, mortgaging or leasing lands or other portions of the protected area which are covered by any tenurial instrument; and

 

"(v) Constructing any permanent structure within the forty (40)-meter easement from the high water mark of any natural body of water or issuing a permit for such construction pursuant to Article 51 of Presidential Decree No. 1067: Provided, That construction for common usage wharves and shoreline protection shall be permitted by the PAMB only after thorough EIA."

 

Issues and Challenges

 

Despite generally favoring the expansion of protected areas, experts caution about the potential pitfalls (https://news.mongabay.com/2023/01/for-philippines-unprotected-hotspots-new-conservation-window-beckons/).

 

“[There’s] danger that these PAs will not be managed well and will just be protected areas on paper because we currently don’t have enough human resources to manage existing PAs as it is,” Andrada says. “Management of new PAs can eat up a portion of the national budget that can be used for other purposes” (https://news.mongabay.com/2023/01/for-philippines-unprotected-hotspots-new-conservation-window-beckons/).

 

In its country statement for the 2022 Biodiversity Conference, the Philippine government said public expenditure for biodiversity is increasing, but identified a funding gap of at least 14 billion pesos ($250 million) annually, “particularly for protection and restoration” (https://news.mongabay.com/2023/01/for-philippines-unprotected-hotspots-new-conservation-window-beckons/).

 

“We expect this gap to remain deeply significant, if not larger than previously determined,” Yulo-Loyzaga said, calling for private sector investment interventions (https://news.mongabay.com/2023/01/for-philippines-unprotected-hotspots-new-conservation-window-beckons/).

 

For traditional communities heavily reliant on natural resources for survival, expansion of national parks may not be well received. “In our haste to establish new PAs, there is a danger that it may not be done properly and not take into account other perspectives,” Andrada says, such as having “less land or water that are available for food production” (https://news.mongabay.com/2023/01/for-philippines-unprotected-hotspots-new-conservation-window-beckons/).

 

These are among the concerns raised by Bukluran, a coalition of Indigenous peoples campaigning for government recognition and respect for their traditional governance over their ancestral domains and natural resources. The group is lobbying for the passage of the Indigenous Communities Conserved Territories and Areas (ICCAs) bill (https://news.mongabay.com/2023/01/for-philippines-unprotected-hotspots-new-conservation-window-beckons/).

 

The proposed law upholds sustainable traditional resources rights and recognizes ICCAs as a protected area category under Indigenous ownership, control and governance. Since 2011, 16 Philippine ICCAs covering a combined 349,423 hectares (863,442 acres) have been registered with the U.N. Environment Programme’s World Conservation Monitoring Centre, which maps ICCAs worldwide (https://news.mongabay.com/2023/01/for-philippines-unprotected-hotspots-new-conservation-window-beckons/).

 

In protecting the Philippines’ last remaining wild places within territories that are still occupied and stewarded by Indigenous peoples, one key challenge is reconciling NIPAS with the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act, ensuring that a rights-based approach is considered, said KM Reyes, co-founder of the Centre for Sustainability (https://news.mongabay.com/2023/01/for-philippines-unprotected-hotspots-new-conservation-window-beckons/).

 

“So incorporated in these should definitely be traditional knowledge and practices,” Reyes tells Mongabay in an instant message. “[Indigenous communities] need to be a key stakeholder and hopefully their governance systems are not displaced by any kind of government management systems thereafter” (https://news.mongabay.com/2023/01/for-philippines-unprotected-hotspots-new-conservation-window-beckons/).

 

Still not enough

 

Even the newly adopted Global Biodiversity Framework is “still inadequate” to reverse biodiversity decline, Tibig says. “Halting biodiversity loss will need more than just a 30×30 target,” she tells Mongabay in an email. (https://news.mongabay.com/2023/01/for-philippines-unprotected-hotspots-new-conservation-window-beckons/)

 

Besides expanding protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures, governments must vigorously reduce or avoid carbon emissions to slow down climate change that has shifted species distribution, Tibig says. They should also tackle overexploitation and overconsumption, the compounding factors contributing to biodiversity collapse, she adds (https://news.mongabay.com/2023/01/for-philippines-unprotected-hotspots-new-conservation-window-beckons/).

 

Mallari says that beyond broadening the NIPAS coverage, he hopes to see further improvements in the management effectiveness of existing protected areas. “All of the protected areas have improved [from poor to fair from 2013 to 2017 as per our study] but they’re below the passing score,” he says. “Can the government achieve [its new targets] given that these [protected areas] were not faring very well?” (https://news.mongabay.com/2023/01/for-philippines-unprotected-hotspots-new-conservation-window-beckons/)

 

The government needs to resolve key issues, including politics that dictate the inappropriate design of protected areas, and low capacity of staff to maximize the use of available cutting-edge conservation technologies, Mallari says, adding that doing so is possible and the urgency justifies it (https://news.mongabay.com/2023/01/for-philippines-unprotected-hotspots-new-conservation-window-beckons/).

 

“The more we look at the vulnerability of biodiversity to the deleterious effects of climate change, or the many anthropogenic pressures, the more we see evidence that our vulnerability increases as species decline,” he says (https://news.mongabay.com/2023/01/for-philippines-unprotected-hotspots-new-conservation-window-beckons/).

 

 

References

 

Fabro, Keith Anthony S. For Philippines’ Unprotected Hotspots, New Conservation Window Beckons. 9 January 2023 accessed at https://news.mongabay.com/2023/01/for-philippines-unprotected-hotspots-new-conservation-window-beckons/

Philippine Protected Areas. Biodiversity Management Bureau. Department of Environment and Natural Resources accessed at https://bmb.gov.ph/protected-area-development-and-management/philippine-protected-areas/ on January 3, 2024.

Republic Act No 7586 or the National Integrated Protected Areas System Act of 1992 

Republic Act No 11038 or the Expanded National Integrated Protected Areas System (E-NIPAS) Act of 2018

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How We Prepared the CLUP of Lavezares

After more than three years, the municipality of Lavezares, Northern Samar finally has its new and enhanced-Comprehensive Land Use Plan for 2022-2031. It was long and tedious but it was worth it because enshrined in the CLUP is the blueprint for development of the municipality for the next ten years. Imagine a ship without a compass and a local government unit without a CLUP.

According to the CLUP’s Guidebook Volume I (HLURB, 2013), “the Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP) shall determine the specific uses of land and other physical and natural resources, both private and public, within their territorial jurisdiction including areas co-managed with the national government and, as appropriate, management plans for ancestral domains, critical watersheds, river basins, and protected areas. The CLUP shall delineate actual boundaries on the ground within the territorial jurisdiction, embody the desired land use patterns of the barangay, city or municipality, translate and integrate sectoral plans, and provide appropriate policies for each of the four land use planning categories.”

Guided by the HLURB’s Guidebooks, we were able to navigate all the CLUP’s parts because of the LGU’s support especially on the financial and human resource aspects and the participation of all the stakeholders.

While observing the 12-step process, the entire tasks became even more workable because we have laid down the necessary materials and manpower from start to end.

Based on my experience, I consider the following as crucial in crafting the CLUP:

1.  Have an updated Ecological Profile. CLUP is an evidence-based plan. All throughout the process, a comprehensive and reliable dataset are needed. This is usually the stumbling block of most local planners. Data gathering is what usually drags the CLUP process for years and even to no end.

2.  Aside from the Planning Team, there should be a core technical working group doing the ground work. While I facilitate and supervise the entire process and write the technical document, I have in my team two GIS experts; one of which is an engineer who was also tasked on working on the zone maps and boundaries. I also have two technical staff who worked on the Climate and Disaster Risk Assessment (CDRA).

3.  The planning team and technical people should attend all trainings being conducted by the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) (then HLURB). It is good that for a number of years, HLURB then had conducted series of modular training-workshops; all of which we were able to attend. In regard to CDRA, we have invited a CDRA trainer from the DILG Provincial Office.

4.     Secure the cooperation of the punong barangays. We have, by the way, conducted several planning workshops with the barangays as well as focus group discussions. We surveyed each of the barangay when we were formulating the proposed land use classifications. Engaging them in the planning process makes the CLUP grounded and reflective of present realities.

5.     Never stop working until it is done. The real work for our CLUP started in March 2019 and had it submitted to the DHSUD Regional Office in November 2022 and have it approved by the Provincial Land Use Committee (PLUC) in January 2023 which made it 35 months in the making and that included the CDRA survey and report. In May 2023, the local sanggunian approved the CLUP and the Zoning Ordinance. And finally, the Sangguniang Panlalawigan approved it on July 2023. Had it not been to the pandemic, we could have finished earlier.

6.     Always seek the assistance of the DHSUD and the secretariat of the PLUC.

Once the CLUP and the Zoning Ordinance are already approved, it really is a wonderful feeling and a great relief knowing that the LGU now has clear direction, at least, on paper. Implementing the plan and the policy is another thing.

 

Getting A New Sablay: Because the Public Deserves the Best

 

 

Last December 16, 2023, I donned my second sablay at UP Open University in Los Baños, Laguna. The first was four years ago for my Diploma in Land Use Planning. This time, for my master’s degree in Public Management to which I majored in Local Government and Regional Administration (LGRA).

 

Some have asked me what would now be my next plan. My reply was, I do not know yet, because when I enrolled in both courses I was not thinking of the future rather I was preoccupied with my self-imposed belief that my previous and today’s positions should be matched with a good academic background because such would help me give the best service to the people, the brand of service that they rightfully deserve. And which university can provide me such good academic background other than can be provided by the best university in the country and one of the “bests” in the world, the University of the Philippines.

 

Thankfully, there is the UP Open University that made UP education readily accessible to someone like me who lives and work in the province and definitely cannot make it to a UP physical campus. Thanks, too, to the professors from the UP System who generously shared their time and brilliance to us learners. Gratitude as well to modern communications technology that bridged the distance.

 

In 2017, right after passing the board exam for environmental planner which made me qualified to occupy planning and development position on an assistant or department head level in the local government unit, I felt I am still inadequate, knowledge and technical-wise. By the way, I was only qualified to take the planner’s board because I was an incumbent planning officer in our LGU by virtue of the five-year grace period that was guaranteed by RA10587 or the Environmental Planning Act of 2013; which means after 2019, all applicants for the board exam should be a graduate of environment planning or urban planning or related courses. The classes for the Diploma in Land Use Planning were delivered fully online for the first to three semesters and for the last semester a practicum is required where students have to physically meet together with the professor to conduct actual planning workshop. The coursework was a huge challenge for a learner like me who have been away from school for fifteen years. Self-doubt as in questioning my ability consumed me but have considered it to be useful as it flexed my self-discipline and perseverance. In 2019, I finished the course, wore the sablay, and smiled with a dream fulfilled.

 

By 2020, the position of secretary top the Sangguniang Bayan is about to be vacated as the incumbent is about to retire in a year. That presented a golden opportunity for me to elevate my present status of an assistant planning officer to a department head position. Fortunately, I was vouched by the mayor as well as by Sangguniang Bayan members and eventually hired by the vice-mayor; the latter being the appointing authority. Being the secretary of the sanggunian as my colleagues know is more than just preparing the agenda and the minutes of the sessions and meetings, it is also having the responsibility of making sure that all ordinances and resolutions being deliberated and enacted are well-researched and properly formulated. At times, a secretary has to initiate the passage of some ordinances and resolutions one deems useful and necessary for the municipality.

 

Again, with my personal belief that a position in the government should be coupled with necessary and relevant academic degree, one that is above the required minimum, I enrolled in Master of Public Management program, where else, but in the UP Open University. After three years of coursework and passing the comprehensive exam, I got my second sablay.

 

Looking back some 23 years ago, what I only desire is to graduate in college and land a job in the government. I have no idea yet as to which agency or department and what specific task I would be doing. As time went by, surprising opportunities and challenges took their turns. 

Going back to the question as to what I will be doing now with my new degree and all that came before it, again, I do not have a definite answer yet. What matters now is I can assure the public that I am now prepared more than ever to serve them.