HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES – Hermosa Mayor Jopet Inton on Wednesday, November 27, attended a committee hearing as one of the resource persons of the House Committee on Natural Resources in support for the House Bill 140 filed by Bataan 1st District Rep. Geraldine B. Roman last July 1, 2019.
HB 140 (An Act Reclassifying A Public Domain Located in the Municipalities of Hermosa and Dinalupihan, Province of Bataan as Agricultural Land Open to Disposition as Commercial, Residential and Other Purposes) aims to reclassify certain parcels of public land in the Municipalities of Hermosa and Dinalupihan particularly the portions of Roosevelt Protected Landscape with a total land area of 184.43 hectares, as alienable and disposable.
Mayor Inton emphasized the need to reclassify parcels of land in the said areas and the expansion thereof to address the clamor of his constituents.
Congresswoman Roman pointed out on her bill that the parcels of land inside the protected area being applied for reclassification have been identified as more suitable for residential and commercial purposes owing to the fast development pace in Dinalupihan area and the whole Province of Bataan in general.
At present, Roman added, the area serves as a tourist destination but there is a need to address the settlement problem of inhabitants since the area became densely populated.
Previously published reports in the media stated that the area has been targeted by some professional squatters or “agaw lupa” syndicates.
In 2010, former Dinalupihan Mayor Joel Jaime Payumo sought the help of former DENR Bataan PENRO, Atty. Ricardo Lazaro to stop hundreds of illegal settlers from continuously occupying portions of the said park.
The mayor said the squatters settled in the area way back in the early part of March 2010 and their number kept increasing. Some have built houses made of concrete hollow blocks.
Atty. Lazaro said they have filed a case against four leaders of the illegal settlers allegedly led by a certain Victor Rotairo, a former member of the Citizen Armed Forces Geographical Unit or CAFGU.
He said, during a press interview at that time, that they wanted the leaders jailed to discourage others. He estimated that about 400 illegal settlers are occupying the park. The settlers said there are more than 1,600 of them.
The said place was formerly called the Roosevelt National Park and has been declared a protected area pursuant to the National Integrated Protected Area System or NIPAS Act of 1992.
Later on, by virtue of Proclamation No. 273 issued on April 23, 2000, the said protected area was named Roosevelt Protected Landscape comprising a land area of 786.04 hectares.