A tricky issue involving 167 hectares of timberland straddling the towns of Corella and Sikatuna which a foundation pushed to manage along with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) was peacefully solved after the contending parties agreed for a tripartite cooperation. The plan of the Philippine Tarsier Foundation, Inc. under its chair, Rev Fr. Florante Camacho, parish priest of Busay parish in Maribojoc, was to manage the timberland area to conserve, promote, research and establish a sanctuary for the Philippine tarsier. The plan to manage the vast tract of landholdings hit a snag when the municipalities of Corella and Sikatuna through Mayors Nicanor Tocmo and Jose Ellorimo protested the plan of the foundation about the 167 hectares. The two mayors wanted a piece of the action thinking that the sanctuary will also boost their own tourism programs in their respective municipalities.

Corella is getting a share in the donation of tourist frequenting the sanctuary in Canapnapan while Sikatuna is selling its Sikatuna Tree Park by riding on the back of the tarsier’s popularity. The mayors contended that they too wanted to co-manage the sanctuary. Expressing disappointment with the delay in the signing of the Memorandum of Agreement in relation to the 167 hectares, the foundation members, notable among them lawyer Anos Fonacier, banker Richard Uy ,lawyer Urbano Lagunay and mall magnate Marlito Uy, sought a meeting with Gov. Edgar Chatto Friday evening to solve the impasse. The meeting hosted by Gov. Chatto was held at the fine dining restaurant Prawn Farm at the ICM. Media representatives from the Bohol Chronicle and The Bohol Sunday Post were invited to attend the meeting. The mediamen expected fireworks from the factions of the foundation and the two mayors but nothing of that sort erupted.

The meeting went on smoothly contrary to earlier expectations that it would be a raucous one. The contending parties including the DENR agreed that since they are all for the conservation and preservation of the tarsier, there’s no point arguing the management framework of the management agreement. The co-management will be shared by the foundation, two municipalities and the DENR. At least two components were identified during the meeting. They are identifying the vast landholding as protected area of the tarsier while serving as its sanctuary to preserve its species which has been widely vandalized as a result of the culture of the mammals through caging them in captivity. The primates are supposed to live in their natural habitat and not to be displayed for tourist attraction as what is happening to the creature while in captivity in Loboc and Panglao. There’s an existing ordinance that bans the display of tarsiers outside its sanctuary in Corella but the law is more honored in the breach than in its compliance.