Mabini and Tingloy to Implement Soon its Unified Conservation Fee System
WHAT is the Conservation Fee (CF)?
Conservation Fee or CF refers to charges imposed on any person
who dives in the municipal waters of Mabini and Tingloy. Such fees shall be intended
for purposes of financing conservation, protection and management of their respective
municipal waters.
HOW did the ordinance authorizing the collection
of CF come about?
The Mabini and Tingloy municipal ordinances were, by no means,
hastily prepared. The activities leading to their adoption started more than
5 years ago. In the summer of 2000, WWF surveyed 200+ divers on their
willingness-to-pay (WTP) to improve the conditions of the coral reefs in
"Anilao". The results showed a positive WTP of P400 per weekend visit (or P100
per dive for an average of 4 dives on a weekend). This figure is a small fraction
of the total expenditures of a diver for a weekend dive package.
Subsequently, the results were presented to the municipal councils of Mabini and
Tingloy as the basis for the drafting of their ordinances. In the case of Mabini's
draft ordinance, it was presented to various stakeholders, including the divers, in
different occasions. A consultation among divers was held at SM Mega Mall in
August, 2002 where the results of the study and the ordinance were presented and
discussed. As a result of the consultations, the fee was lowered to P50 per
day. Another round of public hearing was held a month later at Aquaventure
Resort. Finally, in September 2002, the ordinance was passed by the Sangguniang
Bayan and received provincial approval only in March 2003. Meanwhile, Tingloy's
ordinance, after a similar series of consultations and public hearings, was passed
in September of 2003, and consequently concurred by the Sangguniang Panlalawigan
in early 2004.
IS the CF a tax?
The payment of the CF is contigent on the existence of a service
or product, which in this case is improved corals and fishery, which will be
directly enjoyed by the divers paying the fee. By contrast, a tax is paid to the
government but the benefits do not necessarily accrue directly to the person
paying it.
WHAT is the unified fee system (UFS)?
A unified fee system is the contemplated inter-municipal
consercation fee system between Mabini and Tingloy. In the planned UFS, a
SCUBA diver who intends to dive in any of the dive sites of either town will
have to pay the required unified dive fee.
WHY should there be a UFS?
The Mabini's conservation fee, implemented starting last
September 2003, was based on its Municipal Ordinance No.03-2002. The said fee
was intended to cover the coastal resources management activities in Mabini's
municipal waters only. As of June 2005, Mabini has collected P1.8 Million.
Majority of the collected fee are now spent on Bantay Dagat operations which
has greatly deterred illegal and destructive fishing in Mabini's municipal
waters and the establishment and maintenance of mooring buoys in dive sites
thereby protecting the reefs from irresponsible anchorage.
Ironically, while there are numerous favorite dive sites, in Tingloy, the resorts
are mostly located in Mabini. Separately, Tingloy LGU passed a similar CF ordinance
(No.01-2003), with the hope of also providing opportunity for the divers to assist
the municipality's efforts in coastal resources management. Faced with difficulties,
unfortunately, the said ordinance was never implemented. Recognizing its advantages,
both LGUs explored the possibility of having a unified fee system of UFS. A UFS
that will allow Tingloy to implement its conservation fee ordinance but that will
not further burden or inconvenience the divers. Consequently, on June 28, 2005, a
Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) was signed by the LGUs of Mabini and Tingloy to unify
the collection of their conservation fees.
WHAT are the advantages of having a UFS?
There are many advantages of a UFS. With the unified fee,
The divers are now able to contribute to the conservation, protection, and
management, of not just Mabini's municipal waters but that of Tingloy as well.
The implementation will be simplified and the divers will be freed from any
further hassle.
The diver will only have to buy one dive pass or the unified pass, instead of
two if Mabini and Tingloy's conservation fee ordinances were implemented
separately.
With only one dive pass, the diver shall have access in all the dive sites
of both municipalities, except in the Batalang Bato Marine Sanctuary in Tingloy,
where until today, fishing and diving are not allowed.
WHERE will the collected fees be spent on and WHO
decides HOW it will be spent?
Separately, Mabini and Tingloy have organized their respective
Coastal Resources Management Boards (CRMBs), pursuant to their respective
ordinances. These CRMBs are composed of representatives from various stakeholders,
including divers, fisherfolks, dive boat operators, and resort-owners, amont others.
The CRMB is mandated to decide how the collected fees will be spent as long as the
are for the purpose of financing "conservation, protection and management" of their
respective coastal marine resources. In Mabini, the already collected fees are spent
on marine law enforcement, mooring buoys, information and education campaign, coastal
clean-ups, policy development, and capacity building, among others. It is expected
that once Tingloy shall have collected its own fees, similar activities to that
of Mabini will also be spent on.
HOW can one avail of the unified dive pass (UDP)?
Initially, the unified fee system will utilize the existing
distribution network established by Mabini. The unified dive passes will be
available in the following:
Mabini's MENRO office in the poblacion
Mabini's Tourism Office and Tourists Information Center at the Anilao
pier
WWF Project Office in Barangay Anilao East.
In addition, the unified daily dive passes will also be pre-sold to Mabini-based
resorts and dive boat operators, who will in turn make them available to their
diver-guests/clients, re-sold with the same price and/or part of the resort bill.
Anticipating direct arrival of divers in Tingloy from, say, Puerto Galera, and other
areas, unified daily dive passes will also be available (pre-sold) in Tingloy-based
resorts and dive boat operators, and soon among its coastal barangays, especially
where a dive site is located nearby.
HOW much will the UDP cost?
Earlier, Mabini's daily dive pass was pegged at P50, while Tingloy's
oridinance, which was never implemented, also prescribed a P50 daily dive pass.
This time, the unified daily dive pass will only cost P100. This amount will
be shared equally between Mabini and Tingloy. The P100 unified daily dive pass will
allow the diver, with as many number of dive he/she wishes, anytime of the day, and
anywhere in any of the dive sites in Mabini and Tingloy. On the other hand, the
unified annual dive pass, which will allow the diver to dive anywhere in Mabini and
Tingloy's dive sites any day of the year will only cost P1,800. Those who frequent
"Anilao", that which Mabini and Tingloy combined is popularly known, are expected
to find the unified annual dive pass more attractive than the unified daily dive pass.
The proceeds from the unified annual dive pass will also be shared equally between
Mabini and Tingloy.
WHAT happens to the 2005 annual dive passes (ADP) issued
by Mabini?
The UFS is planned to be implemented by September 1, 2005.
By then, the P50 daily dive pass of Mabini will no longer be sold. It will be
replaced by the P100 unified daily dive pass. As agreed by the MOA's Oversight
Committee, the 2005 annual dive passes (ADP) already produced by Mabini will be
converted into 2005 unified annual dive pass starting in September 1, 2005 and will
be valid until the end of December, 2005. These will be sold on a pro-rata basis,
however, using the P1,800 base rate. For example, the unified annual dive pass
bought (any day) in September, which will be valid until end of December, 2005,
will cost only P600. Meanwhile, all the 2005 Mabini annual dive pass holders
who bought before September 1, 2005, will also be allowed to dive free in Tingloy
municipal waters. These will be valid until end of December, 2005.
Starting in January 2006, however, it is planned that the unified annual dive pass
will be valid for one year but will not be restricted to a given calendar year.
For example, a unified annual dive pass bought in February 4, 2006 will be valid
until February 03, 2007.
