MIMAROPA

Resolution supports bill to make Palawan eco-tourism capital

By Victoria Asuncion S. Mendoza

Tuesday 15th of May 2012

PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Palawan, May 15 (PIA) -- The provincial legislative body has recently approved a resolution supporting the immediate passage of Senate Bill No. 1358 entitled “An Act Declaring the Province of Palawan as the Ecological Tourism Capital of the Philippines and Other Purposes.”

The resolution was authored by provincial board member Gil P. Acosta who said that all the board members are one and united in supporting senator Loren Legarda’s bill.

To preserve the existing ecosystem and to promote sustainable tourism industry, the bill proposes to declare Palawan including Puerto Princesa City as an eco-tourism zone designating it as Eco-Tourism Capital of the Philippines with corresponding government support and grant of autonomy.

The senate bill would also create an Eco-Tourism Office whose governing board shall be co-chaired by representatives of the legislative districts of Palawan and the Governor of Palawan. Members of the board shall come from the Palawan Council of Sustainable Development, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Department of Tourism, the LGU, private sector, and NGOs.

The senate bill was filed by Legarda in July 2010 and is pending in the Committee of Tourism. (LBR/VSM-PIA4B Palawan)