Inihain ni Senador Cynthia Villar ang Senate Bill 1690 o ang “Panaon Island Protected Seascape Act of 2023” na naglalayong gawing protektadong lugar ang Panaon Island sa Southern Leyte.
Sa kaniyang explanatory note, binanggit ni Villar, chairperson ng Senate Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, na layon ng panukalang batas na protektahan ang Panaon Island alinsunod sa probisyon ng Republic Act No. 7586 o ang "National Integrated Protected Areas System Act of 1992" na inamyendahan ng Republic Act No. 11038 o Expanded National Integrated Protected Area System Act of 2018.
“This bill seeks to declare the Panaon Island as a Protected Seascape to regulate utilization of marine resources and ensure the conservation and continuity of critical, endangered, threatened coral reefs, seagrasses, and mangrove forests as well as the endemic and threatened species therein,” ani Villar.
Sa ilalim ng panukalang batas, isasama sa protektadong seascape ng Panaon Island ang mga munisipalidad ng Liloan, San Francisco, Pintuyan, at San Ricard, na may kabuuang 62,478.50-ektarya.
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Nauna nang inihain ni 2nd District Southern Leyte Rep. Christopherson Yap ang House Bill 4095 at ni 1st District Southern Leyte Rep. Luz Mercado ang House Bill 3743 na parehong naglalayong gawing protektadong lugar ang Panaon Island.
Nananatiling pending ang nasabing panukalang batas sa House of Representatives Committee on Natural Resources.
