BAGUIO CITY – The municipal government of Banaue, Ifugao has recently identified a four-hectare property within the Awan Igid Viewdeck II as a relocation site for the increasing number of informal settles at the rice terraces view decks in compliance to the recent order of President to clear the tourism site of these settlers.

Director Purification Molintas of the Department of Tourism in the Cordillera Administrative Region (DOT-CAR) said that the people in the area are called informal settlers because they own the lot where their houses are erected and that same had been passed on from generation to generation but they have no titles over their property since the area is part of the Cordillera forest reserve.

Molintas said Banaue municipal officials are facilitating the relocation of the informal settlers to ensure tourists of uninterrupted view of scenic rice terraces.

It was learned that the municipal government is processing the immediate relocation of around 200 informal settlers to the proposed relocation site in the next few weeks.

It was also learned that Ifugao Rep. Solomon Chungalao has allocated some amount from his Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) for the improvement of road leading to the proposed resettlement area. (Dexter A. See)

In her visit to Banaue last December 31, President Arroyo ordered the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the local government officials to look for a possible resettlement for the informal settlers since they are blocking the view of the rice terraces.

DENR Secretary Michael Defensor, who is also groomed as the next presidential chief of staff, was ordered by the President to prepare the necessary proclamation to declare the site as a resettlement area and for other purposes it may serve.

Molintas said that the resettlement area would be an added tourist attraction in Ifugao since the local government will implement the recommendation of a non-government organization to use a uniform architectural design for the roofing of the houses to be constructed.

The group suggested around 34 possible architectural designs for the roofings of the structures within the terraces area but the DoT official said they are considering indigenous architecture for the houses in the resettlement area.

"Banaue remains a key destination in the country. We have to do all possible things to retain the beauty of the terraces," she said.

For the past two years, the DoT director said that the influx of foreign tourists, particularly Europeans, to the rice terraces has doubled which is a good sign for the local tourism industry. (Dexter A. See)