Bislig's city council has asked the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) for the official maps of two protected areas inside the city: a watershed on land and a marine protected area along the coast. The council says the city cannot write proper rules to protect either one without knowing exactly where their boundaries are.
Both requests were adopted on October 20, 2026, during the 66th regular session of the Tenth Sangguniang Panlungsod, and are published on the city government's website. Both were authored by Vice Mayor Conrad C. Cejoco.
The watershed: San Antonio-Cumawas-Kauntuan
Resolution No. 2026-832 requests a copy of the map and coordinates of the San Antonio-Cumawas-Kauntuan (SACK) Watershed. San Antonio and Comawas are two of Bislig's 24 barangays (the resolution spells the second name "Cumawas").
The resolution states plainly that "the City of Bislig intends to establish a local conservation area over a watershed," and describes the SACK watershed as "a vital natural resource situated within the territorial jurisdiction of the City of Bislig." It notes that watersheds "ensure the steady supply of potable water, regulate local hydrological cycles, and preserve environmental integrity and biodiversity."
To write local environmental ordinances, fold watershed protection into zoning, and stop "unregulated encroachments or activities that may compromise the watershed's integrity," the council says the city needs "precise geographic and technical data." The DENR holds the official maps, technical descriptions and coordinates of proclaimed watersheds and protected areas.
The sea: the Bislig-Lingig-Hinatuan MPA
Resolution No. 2026-833 requests the map and geological coordinates of the Bislig-Lingig-Hinatuan (Bis-Lin-Hin) Marine Protected Area (MPA). As the name suggests, it spans waters shared with the neighboring towns of Lingig to the south and Hinatuan to the north.
The resolution says the MPA "encompasses significant marine waters within the territorial jurisdiction of the City of Bislig" and plays "a critical role in safeguarding local aquatic resources." Marine protected areas, it adds, serve as sanctuaries for "marine biodiversity, fish stocks, and coastal ecosystems."
The council wants the official map for "accurate spatial planning, boundary delineation, and prevention of unauthorized encroachments or destructive activities within the protected zone." It also wants to enforce fishery laws and draw up coastal resource management and zoning plans.
Why now: the new land-use plan
The MPA resolution says Bislig "is in the process of formulating its Comprehensive Land-Use Plan (CLUP)," and that the MPA information "will form an essential part of the spatial framework and environmental protection zones" in that plan.
A CLUP is the city's long-term guide for where homes, farms, businesses, industry and protected areas go. Getting the protected zones right on paper is what later allows the city to say no to a building permit, a quarry or a fishing method in the wrong place.
The timing also fits a pattern in this council. Over the past months it has asked DENR and other offices for boundary documents on several fronts, including the city's own territorial limits, as Bislig sorts out what land and water it actually governs.
What happens next
Both resolutions are requests. The DENR still has to provide the documents, and the city would then need to pass its own ordinances to set up a local conservation area or adopt coastal rules.
For residents of San Antonio and Comawas, a declared conservation area could later bring rules on tree cutting, farming on steep slopes or building near water sources. For fisherfolk along Bislig Bay and the coast toward Lingig and Hinatuan, clearer MPA boundaries could mean clearer no-fishing zones. Neither has been set yet.
Sources: City of Bislig, Sangguniang Panlungsod Resolution Nos. 2026-832 and 2026-833 (adopted October 20, 2026), published on bislig.gov.ph.