Section 8August 22, 2007, Sec./Art. 8

The Mimbilisan Protected Landscape Superintendent Office. - There is hereby established a Protected Area Superintendent's Office in charge of the management, protection and administration of the PA. The PASu shall be supported by the existing personnel of the DENR. The head of office shall be the chief operating officer of the Mimbilisan Protected Landscape or the PA and shall be accountable to the RED of the DENR-Region X and the PAMB.

The PASu shall have the following powers and functions:

(a) Prepare the management and successor plans as herein provided;

(b) Provide a secretariat for the PAMB to supply the latter with all information necessary to make appropriate decisions;

(c) Hire and supervise the necessary personnel to support operations as the budget made available by the PAMB may allow;

(d) Establish a productive partnership with the local community, including groups interested in the achievement of the goals and objectives of the PA and in the planning, protection and management thereof;

(e) Develop and implement a park information, education and visitor program;

(f) Enforce the laws, rules and regulations relevant to the PA and assist in the prosecution of offenses thereof;

(g) Monitor all activities within the PA for conformity with the management plan; and

(h) Perform such other functions as the PAMB may assign.

The PASu shall prepare a management plan in coordination with the appropriate offices of the DENR, the LGUs, the local communities and experts on tribal communities who have experience in the particular cultures in the area. The management plan shall be reviewed approved and adopted by the PAMB and certified to by the Secretary so that it conforms to all laws, rules and regulations of national application. In no case shall the management plan be revised or modified without prior consultation with the PAMB.

Within one year from the effectivity of this Act, the management plan shall be put into effect in accordance with the NIPAS Act and the procedure herein set forth. It shall contain, among others, the following:

(i) Period of applicability of the plan;

(ii) Key management issues;

(iii) Goals and objectives of management;

(iv) Site management strategy;

(v) Major management activities such as, but not limited to, enforcement of laws, habitat and wildlife management, sustainable use management, infrastructure development and maintenance, fire and pest control, etc.;

(vi) Zoning; and

(vii) Visitor management programs.

The PASu shall prepare all successor plans two years before the expiration of the existing plans and shall cause the publication of notices for comments and suggestions on the next successor plan in a newspaper of local circulation and the posting of such notices in the provincial, municipal and barangay halls and in three other areas frequented by the public. Public consultations may be conducted on the successor plan upon the written request of any interested party. The proposed plan shall be made available to the public during the period for comment and the final version shall be made available for public perusal at the office of the PASu.

The zoning of the PA shall give primary consideration to cultural, economic and social practices consistent with sustainable management principles by tenured migrants and nearby communities for an appreciable length of time unless such uses are deemed detrimental to biodiversity conservation and the protection of the natural characteristics of the PA.

The management plan shall be prepared in a language understandable in the area, plainly written and available for perusal anytime to the general public at the PASu Office.