By Reggie Vizmanos
Apr 52 min
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is set to identify, map, and designate public lands and portions of municipal waters in the country suitable for salt production.
Salt production areas identified in said provinces must be designated and declared within 60 days from the effectivity of the Act. I Photo: Department of Science and Technology Mimparopa Region
The agency emphasized that this is in accordance with Republic Act No. 11985, or An Act Strengthening and Revitalizing the Salt Industry in the Philippines, also referred to as the Salt Industry Development Act, which took effect on April 1.
The Act states, “Pursuant to Section 9 of the Act, the DENR, through its appropriate bureaus and its attached agencies, the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority (NAMRIA), and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), are mandated to map out, identify, and designate public lands, including portions of municipal waters, as salt production areas.”
According to the DENR, the priority areas for salt production include Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, La Union, Pangasinan, Zambales, Bataan, Occidental Mindoro, Oriental Mindoro, Palawan, Marinduque, Quezon Province, Misamis Oriental, and Antique.
Salt production areas identified in said provinces must be designated and declared within 60 days from the effectivity of the Act.
The DENR is also tasked with informing the public of the result of the mandatory mapping, identification, and designation of said public lands, and to correspondingly inform interested salt industry investors.
DENR Undersecretary Jonas Leones said that they will also assess abandoned fish ponds for possible use in salt industry development, while fish sanctuaries and marine protected areas will be excluded.
Leones also assured that local fishermen fishing in municipal waters will not be affected by the designation of sites for salt production, as they normally fish in deeper areas, while salt production is done on the dry part of the coastline.