The following are the provisions of the Tubbataha Reefs National Park Law that have been violated upon which the fines are based (computation of the fines under Sec. 20, damage to the reef, are found in the IRR’s); fines, being penal in nature, are separate from civil damages (actual damages, temperate damages, exemplary damages), costs of suit if any, administrative costs if any; the aggrieved party must expressly claim each of these or expressly make a reservation:
“Sec. 19. Unauthorized Entry, Enjoyment or Use. No person or entity shall enter, enjoy or utilize any portion of the TRNP and the resources therein for whatever purpose without prior permission from the TPAMB as herein provided.
“The TRNP shall be off-limits to navigation, except for activities that are sanctioned by the TPAMB such as, but not limited to, tourism and research. Except in emergency situations, it shall be unlawful to enter the TRNP without prior permission from the TPAMB or the PASu as herein provided. It shall also be unlawful to enter, enjoy or use for any purpose any prohibited management zone. This rule shall similarly apply to the use of vessels, gears and equipment in management zones where such are not allowed.
“Violation of this section shall be subject to imprisonment of not less than six (6) months but not more than one (1) year imprisonment and a fine of One hundred thousand pesos (P100,000.00) but not more than Three hundred thousand pesos (P300,000.00), as may be determined by the TPAMB. If the violator is a commercial fisher/fisherfolk, the penalty shall be imprisonment of not less than one (1) year but not more than three (3) years and a fine of Five hundred thousand pesos (P500,000.00)
“Sec. 20. Damages to the Reef. Damages to the reef shall subject the responsible person or entity to the payment of administrative fines set by the TPAMB based on current valuation standards and to the payment of the cost of restoration.
“Sec. 21. Non-payment of Conservation Fees. It shall be unlawful for any person or entity to enjoy or utilize the TRNP and the resources therein without payment of conservation fees as may be imposed by the TPAMB.
“Violators of this section shall, in addition to the payment of the conservation fee, pay the administrative fine of double the amount of the conservation fee set by the TPAMB for the activity undertaken
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“Sec. 30. Obstruction to Law Enforcement Officer. The boat owner, master, operator, officer or any person acting on his/her behalf, of any vessel who evades, obstructs or hinders any law enforcement officer in the TRNP to perform his/her duty, shall be administratively fined Fifty thousand pesos (P50,000.00). In addition, the registration, permit and/or license of the vessel including the license of the officers thereof shall be cancelled.”
( pertinent IRR provisions, for computations, in the next post)
News peg: MMDA tears down posters of “epal” politicians. [“epal” politicians are those who promote themselves thru the visual media (tarps and posters) and the multimedia (ads and other forms of publicity) in the guise of sending out greetings, giving free services, “sponsoring” infrastructure.]
Aside from the pertinent city ordinances prohibiting vandalism, the MMDA may also rely on the following provisions of the Civil Code:
Book II. Property, Ownership, and its Modifications. Title VIII.- Nuisance.
“Art. 694. A nuisance is any act, omission, establishment, business, condition of property, or anything else which:
(1) Injures or endangers the health or safety of others; or
(2) Annoys or offends the senses; or
(3) Shocks, defies or disregards decency or morality; or
(4) Obstructs or interferes with the free passage of any public highway or street, or any body of water; or
(5) Hinders or impairs the use of property.
(Underscoring supplied)
Art. 695. Nuisance is either public or private. A public nuisance affects a community or neighborhood or any considerable number of persons, although the extent of the annoyance, danger or damage upon individuals may be unequal. A private nuisance is one that is not included in the foregoing definition.
Art. 697. The abatement of a nuisance does not preclude the right of any person injured to recover damages for its past existence.
Art. 698. Lapse of time cannot legalize any nuisance, whether public or private.
Art. 699. The remedies against a public nuisance are:
(1) A prosecution under the Penal Code or any local ordinance: or
(2) A civil action; or
(3) Abatement, without judicial proceedings.
Art. 704. Any private person may abate a public nuisance which is specially injurious to him by removing, or if necessary, by destroying the thing which constitutes the same, without committing a breach of the peace, or doing unnecessary injury. But it is necessary:
(1) That demand be first made upon the owner or possessor of the property to abate the nuisance;
(2) That such demand has been rejected;
(3) That the abatement be approved by the district health officer and executed with the assistance of the local police; and
(4) That the value of the destruction does not exceed three thousand pesos.
Art. 705. The remedies against a private nuisance are:
(1) A civil action; or
(2) Abatement, without judicial proceedings.
Art. 706. Any person injured by a private nuisance may abate it by removing, or if necessary, by destroying the thing which constitutes the nuisance, without committing a breach of the peace or doing unnecessary injury. However, it is indispensable that the procedure for extrajudicial abatement of a public nuisance by a private person be followed.
Art. 707. A private person or a public official extrajudicially abating a nuisance shall be liable for damages:
(1) If he causes unnecessary injury; or
(2) If an alleged nuisance is later declared by the courts to be not a real nuisance.
