Cenro still accepts foreshore lease agreement applications

Most of the foreshore developments in Lapu-Lapu City are without a foreshore lease agreement from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. /CDN file photo

Despite Moratorium

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources – Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (DENR-CENRO) will continue to accept applications for foreshore lease agreements even if a Lapu-Lapu City ordinance that imposes a moratorium on applications is signed into law.

Richard Dicdican, Land Management Officer II and head of Licenses, Patents, and Deeds Unit (LPDU) of Cenro said the passage of the ordinance will not bar their office from the performance of their functions which includes the issuance of foreshore lease agreements.

Cenro holds office at pier 3 in Cebu City, but its coverage includes Lapu-Lapu City.

Dicdican said their office accepts applications for foreshore lease agreements which they will later on endorse to the DENR head office for approval.

To date, he said, majority of the establishments located along the coastal areas of Lapu-Lapu City are without a foreshore lease agreement approved by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

He said that only 20 establishments have been issued a foreshore lease agreement by their office while around 75 applications remain pending, some of which were filed in the 1950s yet. These include applications coming from commercial, beach resorts, piers, factory building, and warehouse type of businesses.

Even in the absence of a foreshore lease agreement, most of the applicants went to build their required structures within the three-meter easement, which is a violation of Presidential Decree 1067 or the Water Code of the Philippines.

“More than 50% of those establishments who still have a pending application from our office have already built infrastructures in the foreshore areas and are already operating their businesses,” he said.

Dicdican said that as soon as they are able to file their application, CENRO will issue them a provisionary permit that will allow them to build structures in foreshore areas.

“The problem is that once they finished building their structures, they would no longer continue processing their foreshore lease application,” he said.

Most of the investors, he said, were discouraged from pursuing their foreshore lease agreement applications because of difficulty in acquiring a favorable endorsement from City Hall particularly the City Council members.

Other requirements for the issuance of a foreshore lease agreement include endorsements from the Department of Public Works and Highways, the Department of Tourism and the Cebu Ports Authority.

In their application, businesses are required to enumerate the different structures or developments that will be implement in the area for appraisal purposes, which will also serve as basis in the computation of the fee that they will have to pay for said application.

The need to regulate the use of foreshores is the reason why members of the Lapu-Lapu City Council passed early this month an ordinance by Councilor Ricardo Amores that will impose a moratorium on application for foreshore lease agreements and other miscellaneous applications.

If signed by Mayor Paz Radaza, the moratorium will prohibit establishments from having exclusive rights over the city’s coastal waters.

The ordinance would also prohibit these establishments from refusing City Hall inspection and the conduct of water sampling in their premises.

While they await the mayor’s action on the approved ordinance, Amores said they are now conducting appraisal and inventory of coastal establishments that are without foreshore lease agreements.