Forfeiture of Illegal Improvements within the Bulacan Fishing Reservation and Turnover Thereof to Bulacan, Bulacan

April 23, 1983

LETTER OF INSTRUCTIONS NO. 1313

WHEREAS, R.A. No. 4701 established the Bulacan Fishing Reservation with an area of 2,965.00 hectares, more or less; located along the foreshore and coastal areas fronting the Manila Bay in the Municipality of Bulacan, Province of Bulacan;

WHEREAS, fishponds have been illegally constructed within the Bulacan Fishing Reservation;

WHEREAS, there are also foreshore areas along the coastal areas of the Municipalities of Hagonoy, Paombong, Malolos and Bulacan, all in the Province of Bulacan;

WHEREAS, to uplift the standard of living of the inhabitants of the Municipalities of Hagonoy, Paombong, Malolos and Bulacan, Province of Bulacan; to keep the fishery resources thereat in its optimum productive condition through proper utilization and management; and to bolster-up the economy of the said municipalities; cdt

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Republic of the Philippines do hereby order the following: acd

1. That all improvements introduced in all the fishponds illegally constructed within the Bulacan Fishing Reservation established under R.A. No. 4701 are hereby declared forfeited in favor of the Government and the same are hereby granted and given to the Municipality of Bulacan, Bulacan for its proprietary disposition and use;

2. That a strip of 300 meters in width running parallel to the boundary established under R.A. No. 4701 containing an approximate area of 600 hectares, more or less, including the existing illegally constructed fishponds within the Bulacan Fishing Reservation is hereby granted to the Municipality of Bulacan, Bulacan for its proprietary disposition and use;

3. That a strip of 300 meters in width running parallel to the coastlines of the Municipalities of Hagonoy, Paombong and Malolos, all in the Province of Bulacan, with the respective lengths of 8.5, 5.0, and 3.0 kilometers, more or less, and with the respective areas of 255.00, 150.00, and 90.00 hectares more or less; are hereby reserved and granted to the said municipalities for their proprietary disposition and use;

4. That the Ministry of Natural Resources, thru the Director of Lands, shall cause within six (6) months upon issuance hereof the delineation of the metes and bounds and establish muniments and/or markers indicating the aforestated 300-meters strips;

5. That the Ministry of National Defense, thru the Chief of the Philippine Constabulary/Integrated National Police, shall see to it that the markers are kept intact and, any person tampering, destroying, removing the same shall be criminally prosecuted;

6. That the Ministry of Natural Resources, thru the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, shall extend technical assistance in the proper utilization and management of the area granted to the said municipalities; and aisa dc

7. That the Ministry of Local Government, thru the Municipalities of Hagonoy, Paombong, Malolos and Bulacan, shall cause the preparation of a Five-Year Development Plan in order to maximize the productivity of the area. acd

This Letter of Instructions shall take effect immediately.

DONE in the City of Manila, this 23rd day of April, in the year of our Lord, Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Three.