CORON ISLAND

PROTECTED AREAS
HISTORY

• The name Coron, meaning “pot” in Cuyonon was given by Don Nicolas Manlavi y
Ledesma.

• The Tagbanuas named the place “Coron”

- meaning enclosed since the place is almost bounded by tall mountains on its three sides.
That place is now known as Banuang Daan in Coron Island.

• Two groups pioneered inhabitation in Coron.

1. Tagbanua
2. Calamianos
 During the last centuries of the Spanish regime, the immigrants who settled in the
Calamian group of Islands were the Sandovals and Rodriguezes from Culion, the Vincuas
from Cagayancillo in Coron Island and Don Nicolas Manlavi y Ledesma who settled in the
mainland of Busuanga. In 1749, Pedro Vincua from Cagayancillo led in establishing an
organized government through an authority of the Governor General to make Coron a
“visita” under the jurisdiction of Culion, which was the “matria” at that time. This was
officially named Peñon de Coron and this existed for more than fifty years.

In 1902, Coron was registered as a town with Don Vicente Sandoval as their first
Alcalde Mayor. The name of the municipality was then changed from Peñon de Coron to
Coron. The early 20th century brought about different industries to Coron. In 1939, Coron,
being a place with mountains rich with mineral reserves experienced a mining boom until
the outbreak of the World War II in 1942. The Japanese occupied the mining camps in July
1942 and resumed to manganese mining then. Coron was liberated from the Japanese forces
in 1945. On the other hand, deep sea fishing flourished in Coron in 1947. The population
increased due to the opportunities of the municipality. People from all over the country
worked either as fishermen or miners.
 Today, the Municipality of Coron is a premier tourist destination for locals and
foreigners for its breathtaking views and scenic places like the beautiful white sand beaches,
marine parks, preserved wreckage of war, dive sites and coral reefs coupled with excellent
services and accommodations, and its hospitable people.

Geographical Location and Area

The Municipality of Coron is geographically located in the northernmost part
of Palawan. It is located approximately 367 km away from Manila and 363 km from
Puerto Princesa City. It is situated between the geographical coordinates of 11° 59' 6
55" North latitude and 120° 12' 21" East longitude. Coron is bordered on the west by
the municipality of Busuanga, on the east by Coron Bay, on the southwest by the
municipality of Culion, on the farther south by the municipality of Linapacan and on
the north by Mindoro Island (
Topography

Elevation
Coron’s topography features a rugged and mountainous terrain. Among all the barangays of the
municipality, four are at an elevation of 550-62 meters namely, Banuang Daan, Cabugao, Poblacion VI
and Tagumpay. The elevation of the forest lands which ranges from 0-50 meters to 550-621 meters
above sea level, characterizes the islands and islets within Coron. The highest elevations in the
municipality are found to be at the south and western corner of its boundary with Busuanga which
comprises a part of the Coron Range.

The municipality is surrounded by narrow, sandy beaches and outlined by sheer, vertical limestone
cliffs which reach up to 600 meters and extend as outcrops up to two kilometers inland. Among its
coastal areas, two are relatively flat which coincides with the residential areas of Banuang Daan and
Cabugao. One passage to such areas is a small cove fringed with strips of mangrove forest. Meanwhile,
among the tallest mountain peaks of the municipality are the Tundarala with an elevation of 1,040 ft.,
Cabugao with 1,000 ft., Manaepet with 960 ft., Calindo with 930 ft., and Singay with 870 ft. The
specific elevation of each barangay is further illustrated in Figure 4.
 What is Protected Areas?
• Protected area (PA) refers to identified portions of land and/or water set aside
for their unique physical and biological diversity and protected from destructive
human exploitation.

-PAs are categorized as: (a) Natural Park; (b) Natural Monument; (c) National
Park; (d) Wildlife Sanctuary; (e) Protected Landscape/Seascape;
(f) Resource Reserve; (g) Natural Biotic Area; (h) Marine Reserve; (i) Managed
Resource Protected Area; (j) Game Refuge and Bird/Fish Sanctuary; (k)
Watershed Forest Reserve; (l) Watershed Reservation; (m) Wilderness Area;
(n)
Mangrove Swamp Forest Reserve; and (o) Other Categories established by law,
conventions or international agreements which the Philippine Government is a
signatory.
 PROTECTED AREA CATEGORIES
-Natural Park

-Natural Monument/Landmark

-National Park

-Wildlife Sanctuary

-Protected Landscape and/or Seascape

-Resource Reserve

-Natural Biotic Area

 PROTECTED AREA CATEGORIES
-Marine Reserve

-Managed Resource Protected Area

-Game Refuge and Bird/Fish Sanctuary

-Watershed Forest Reserve

-Watershed Reservation

-Wilderness Area

-Mangrove Swamp Forest Reserve

 PROTECTED AREA CATEGORIES

• OTHER CATEGORIES
other classifications established
by law, conventions or
international agreements which
the Philippine
Government is signatory.
 LAWS ON PROTECTED AREAS
• In 1992, the Philippines enacted Republic Act No. 7586 otherwise known as
the National Integrated Protected Areas System (NIPAS) Act.

- Protected areas enacted by Congress shall fall under the classification of

National Parks pursuant to the Philippine Constitution. Upon enactment of
the law establishing the protected area, its boundaries shall be delineated
and demarcated on the ground with concrete monuments or other
prominent physical landmarks or features.

- In 2018, the law was amended by RA No. 11038 or the Expanded NIPAS
(ENIPAS) Act which expanded the coverage and
strengthened the administration and management of the system.
 REPUBLIC ACT NO. 11038, June 22, 2018
• An act declaring protected areas and providing for their management,
amending for this purpose republic act no. 7586, otherwise known as the
"national integrated protected areas system (nipas) act of 1992" and for other
purposes.

-Senator Loren Legarda today hailed the enactment of a law that will
strengthen the conservation of 97 ecologically critical areas in the country. The
new law signed on June 22, 2018 is now known as the Expanded National
Integrated Protected Areas System Act of 2018 (ENIPAS) under Republic Act
No. 11038.

-Since 1992, 113 protected areas have been declared through Presidential
proclamations under the NIPAS Law. However, only 13 protected areas have
finally proceeded to be legislated as such in the more than 20 years since the
NIPAS Act was enacted.
 PHILIPPINE PROTECTED AREAS
• Prior to the passage of the amendatory law,
only 13 PAs were proclaimed through
legislation. With the ENIPAS Act, the
Philippines, as of 2020, already have 107
legislated PAs, 13 proclaimed PAs; and 124
initial components.

-There are 244 PAs in the country, 176 are

terrestrial and 68 are marine which cover
4.68 million hectares (ha) and 3.08 million
ha, respectively.
 PROTECTED AREA FRAMEWORK
National Integrated Protected Areas act of 1992 ( Republic Act. No.
7586)
An Act providing for the establishment and management of national integrated
protected areas system, defining its scope and coverage, and for other purposes .
(NIPAS Act of 1992).

The NIPAS Act provides the general principles and procedures for creating and
managing protected areas nationwide.
Scope of legal framework
• GEOGRAPHIC
• CONSERVATION
• CULTURAL
 PROTECTED AREA FRAMEWORK
GEOGRAPHIC
The unique biodiversity of the area shall be the main consideration in the
determination of areas for inclusion in the NIPAS. These areas must be
representatives of a particular bio-geographic zone and/or have one or more of
the following characteristics:

• naturalness of the area to sustain ecological processes and functions and to

help in climate change adaptation and mitigation such as flood minimization,
among others;
• abundance and diversity of species of flora and fauna
• presence of threatened andlor endemic species; and/or
• presence of unique or outstanding geological features that support
biodiversity.
 PROTECTED AREA FRAMEWORK
CONSERVATION
The general objective of the law is stated: “To secure for the Filipino
people of present and future generations the perpetual
existence of all native plants and animals through the
establishment of a comprehensive system of integrated
protected areas.”

The Act focuses on habitat- and ecosystem-related conservation,

identifying forests, watersheds, coastal zones, coral reefs and other such
areas that represent a wide variety of ecosystems.
 PROTECTED AREA FRAMEWORK
CULTURAL
• “the way of life of societies living in harmony with the
environment to adapt to modern technology at their pace,”
• All other protected area categories also allow spiritual and cultural
activities in designated zones. To a large extent, NIPAS Act-
designated protected areas overlap with the ancestral domain claims
of indigenous peoples recognized under the Indigenous Peoples
Rights Act (IPRA) of 1997.
• The procedure for protected area establishment is independent of
the process of ancestral domain recognition and titling.
 PROTECTED AREA MANAGEMENT APPROPRIATIONS
• The General Appropriations Act (GAA) allocates an annual budget
for PAs which are downloaded to the DENR regional and/or provincial offices where the
PAs are located. Bulk of the budget is usually allocated for personal services (PS) while
maintenance and other operating expenses (MOOE) and capital outlay (CO) get a
relatively lower share.

-The usual practice is to earmark a portion of the PA’s MOOE to

the expenses of the DENR field offices that supervise or direct the operation of the
particular PA. From PhP795 million in 2014, the total budget for protected area
management and development has risen to PhP1.4 billion in 2021 (Table 2). A notable
increase was observed in 2020 with the one-time insertion of PhP500 million for
protected area management and development, including ecotourism. Despite the
increase though, the funding for protected area management remains insufficient to
manage all the PAs in the country.
PROTECTED AREA MANAGEMENT APPROPRIATIONS
 PROTECTED AREA MANAGEMENT
• The Biodiversity Management Bureau (BMB) of the Department of Environment and
Natural Resources (DENR) provides the overall supervision of all the PAs in the country.
The BMB provides technical advice to the DENR Secretary on the management of PAs
and their biodiversity in line with the provisions of the
law as well as the international agreements to which the Philippines is a signatory,
foremost of which is the Convention on Biological Diversity.

-By law, each PA should have a Protected Area Management Board (PAMB)
headed by the DENR’s regional, provincial, city or municipal officers, with governors,
city and municipal local chief executives, other officials or representatives of national
government agencies (NGAs) as well as from nongovernmental organizations (NGOs).
In coordination with the local government units (LGUs), the PAMB takes the supervision
of PAs at the local level and decides on budget allocations, approval of funding
proposals, and planning on matters concerning the ecology, particularly the PAs.
 CORON BAY
PROTECTED AREA

• Coron Bay is in the Coron Island Protected Area and

is a traditional fishing area of the indigenous
Tagbanwa tribe. Coron Bay is famous for diving on
ten Japanese shipwrecks.

• The ships Akitsushima, Okikawa Maru, Irako,

Kogyo Maru, Olympia Maru, Taiei Maru, Kyokuzan
Maru, East Tangat Gunboat and Lusong Island
Gunboat were sunk on September 24, 1944, by the
third air fleet of US Task Force.

• well-known recreational diving region in the Sulu

Sea in the western Philippines, between the islands
of Coron and Busuanga in the Calamian Islands.
Most of Coron Bay is in the Coron Island Protected
Area and is a traditional fishing area of the
indigenous Tagbanwa tribe.
 BULALACAO MARINE
PROTECTED AREA

• 3,486 hectare Marine Protected Area in

Coron establish in 2014, has two strict
protection zones and two sustainable use
zones.

• creation was initiated by the Tagbanua

indigenous community in Barangay
Bulalacao

• recovery of their coastal habitats and

fisheries, including return of endangered
marine species, from decades of abuse
and destruction.
 SIETE PECADOS
PROTECTED AREA

• Its population as determined by the 2020 Census

was 1,131. This represented 1.72% of the total
population of Coron.
• Becomes popular snorkeling spot and protected
areas because of its coral reefs and diverse tropical
marine life
• 2005, suffered from rampant illegal fishing
activities.
• Residents shifted from fishing to tourism-related
livelihood.
• marine species critically endangered hawksbill sea
turtle( Eretmochelys imbricata)thrive along side of
74 species of reef fish, including the endangered
humphead wrasse( Cheilinus andulatus
 THAT’S ALL,
THANK YOU FOR
LISTENING!
Prepared by:
• Abique, Clarisse Anne N.
• Bacosa, Diether Bryan A.
• Bagona, Angelica Joy A.
• Briones, Keithly Jeane
• Bonita, Nikko John M.
• Dimayuga, Debbie Faye
• Gacho, Jefriel P.
• Genialope, Paulen Joy
• Mateo, Valerie