Proclamation No. 171 declaring the Turtle Islands Municipality and its surrounding waters as a protected area

MALACAÑANG Manila BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE PHILIPPINES PROCLAMATION NO. 171 DECLARING THE TURTLE ISLANDS MUNICIPALITY AND ITS SURROUNDING WATERS RECKONED FIFTEEN (15) KILOMETERS FROM THE SHORELINE OF EACH OF THE ISLANDS LOCATED IN THE SOUTHWESTERN SULU SEA, PROVINCE OF TAWI-TAWI, AS A PROTECTED AREA PURSUANT TO REPUBLIC ACT NO. 7586 (NIPAS ACT OF 1992), AND SHALL BE KNOWN AS THE TURTLE ISLANDS WILDLIFE SANCTUARY Upon the recommendation of the Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources and pursuant to the powers vested upon me by law, I, JOSEPH EJERCITO ESTRADA, President of the Philippines, do hereby set aside and declare the island group known as the Turtle Islands Municipality and its surrounding waters reckoned fifteen (15) kilometers from the shoreline of each of the islands located in the Southwestern Sulu Sea, Province of Tawi-Tawi, as a Protected Area under the category of Wildlife Sanctuary, subject to private rights and without prejudice to the rights of the indigenous people as provided for in R. A. No. 8371, DENR Administrative Order No. 93-02, and other related rules and regulations, if any, as described in the DENR NIPAS Map R09-10. The Turtle Islands Wildlife Sanctuary begins at a point marked "1" on the map which is identical to corner 2 of the existing International Treaty Limits with coordinates 06°00'00" latitude and 118°'20'23" longitude based from NAMRIA Map of Balabac Strait No. 4720, Cybersoft Inc.; Thence Due West 32,349.05 meters to corner 2; Thence N 52°00'00" W 51,840.00 meters to corner 3; Thence Due North 21,035.15 meters to corner 4; Thence Due East 14,400.00 meters to corner 5; Thence S 53°27'49.5" E 17,394.45 meters to corner 6; Thence S 85°24'07.9" E 7,921.65 meters to corner 7; Thence S 71°26'46.2" E 8,518.67 meters to corner 8; Thence S 52°27'48.2" E 20,990.33 meters to corner 9; Thence S 15°20' 38.4" E 8,461.24 meters to corner 10; Thence Due South 17,500.00 meters to corner 1; the polnt of beginning, containing an area of TWO HUNDRED FORTY-TWO THOUSAND NINE HUNDRED SIXTY SEVEN (242,967) hectares more or less, THREE HUNDRED EIGHTEEN (318) hectares of which constitute the aggregate land portion of the six islands while the remaining TWO HUNDRED FORTY-TWO THOUSAND SIX HUNDRED FORTY-NINE (242,649) hectares constitute the marine portion. A 15-kilometer distance reckoned from the shoreline of each of the islands is extended to form the protected area boundary within the Philippine waters. The technical descriptions of the Turtle Islands Wildlife Sanctuary shall be subject to actual ground survey using the Global Positioning System (GPS). Marine buoys shall be established on the corners as protected area boundary markers. These areas shall be under the management jurisdiction of the DENR and shall be administered in accordance with the provisions of the NIPAS Act of 1992. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hands and caused the seal of the Republic of the Philippines to be affixed. Done in the City of Manila, this 26 th day of August, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and ninety nine. (SGD.) JOSEPH EJERCITO ESTRADA President By the President: (SGD.) RONALDO B. ZAMORA Executive Secretary