Davao Occidental Governor Claude Bautista will propose a ban on treasure hunts in the province to further protect its ancestral lands.
Bautista said he deemed the ban necessary after a reported treasure hunt in Barangay Kalbay, Jose Abad Santos (JAS) recently.
The governor said the treasure hunt is “not a good idea” especially that the province is strictly monitoring COVID-19 cases.
“We will not allow other people to come in and conduct such activity. It might harm the people of Davao Occidental,” he added.
Bautista said Desiderio Palmera, owner of the property where the supposed treasure hunt was to be conducted has asked his office for assistance regarding the activity.
Despite the treasure hunters having presented a permit signed by the National Museum, he said the activity should not be pursued as they are entering a private property.
“They did not even ask permission from the province and the municipal government of JAS,” Bautista said.
Barangay Kalbay has a total land area of 1,568 hectares wherein 10.10 hectares of it was owned by the Palmera family.
“They do not comply with the proper protocol.”
“They do not comply with the proper protocol. If you came from Manila or (are) passing through our border they should bring in requirements as we are looking at the safety of the people there,” he added.
Meanwhile, JAS mayor Jason John Joyce said the group of treasure hunters has already left their town.
Joyce said his main concern about their presence is the safety of residents since the town remains free from COVID-19.
“There is no update yet if they will continue the operation. If they come back, they need to comply with the health protocols, especially presenting a negative RT-PCR (reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction) test,” he added.
Joyce said some 224 security forces coming from a certain security agency in Region 12 were held at their border checkpoint on May 6 as they attempted to enter the municipality.
Bautista sought assistance from the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to look at the situation in the area.
“We will not let them (treasure hunters) operate.”
“We will not let them (treasure hunters) operate. They cannot even pass the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) protocols. In the event that they have completed the requirements, they can go on with their activity but they can never excavate on private property. We will also send the matter to President Rodrigo Duterte,” he concluded.