Public lands and areas of municipal waterways around the nation that are ideal for salt production will be identified, mapped, and designated, according to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
The project complies with Republic Act No. 11985, which went into effect on April 1 and is titled An Act Strengthening and Revitalizing the Salt Industry in the Philippines.
“Pursuant to Section 9 of the Act, the DENR, through its appropriate bureaus and its attached agencies, the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority (NAMRIA), and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), are mandated to map out, identify, and designate public lands, including portions of municipal waters, as salt production areas,” the Act wrote.
Mapping public lands
Public lands located in the provinces designated as appropriate for salt production and designated as priority regions for salt production shall take precedence within 60 days of the Act's enactment. These include the following provinces: Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, La Union, Pangasinan, Zambales, Bataan, Occidental Mindoro, Oriental Mindoro, Palawan, Marinduque, Quezon Province, Misamis Oriental, and Antique.
Within six months of the Republic Act going into effect, public lands in other regions must likewise be mapped, recognized, and designated as possible salt-producing zones.
Then the Congressional Oversight Committee on Agriculture and Fisheries should get a report on the mapping's completion.
For food security
"This is the kind of integrated approach that is necessary to secure food, health, nutrition, and water essential to energy security,” said DENR Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo Loyzaga last February.
Loyzaga cited President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos’ call to revive the salt industry in the country as the rationale behind this initiative.
“Itong project ay bilang tugon sa panawagan ni Presidente Bongbong Marcos na muling buhayin ang salt industry dito sa bansa. So on behalf of DENR, sana nakatulong po kami sa muling pagbuhay sa asin industry dito," she said
