BAYWALK OVER TROUBLED WATER – The Jagna Baywalk is a scenic seaside promenade in the town of Jagna, offering relaxing views of the Bohol Sea. It’s a popular spot for Jagnaanons and visitors to walk, unwind, and enjoy fresh sea breeze, especially during sunrise and sunset. The area features benches, open spaces, and a clean shoreline, making it ideal for casual strolls, small gatherings, and quiet moments by the water. (Contributed photo)
By DAVE SUAN ALBARADO
The Municipality of Jagna, Bohol faces the possible forfeiture of two prominent waterfront development sites — its baywalk area and the Bunga Mar Fishport — after the Philippine Reclamation Authority (PRA) warned that both projects were undertaken without the legally required government clearances, public documents showed.
In a letter dated Feb. 20, 2026, PRA General Manager and CEO Engr. Cesar S. Siador Jr. gave Mayor Mark Louie R. Monungolh 30 days from receipt to report on steps taken to comply with an earlier PRA directive, or risk having the reclaimed properties forfeited in favor of the national government.
“Failure to respond, comply and/or coordinate within the prescribed period shall constrain PRA to drop your illegal/unauthorized reclaimed land for processing, and the same shall be forfeited in favor of the National Government,” Siador wrote, citing Presidential Decree Nos. 3-A and 1084 as the legal basis for the potential seizure — without need of judicial action.
The February letter was a follow-up to an initial cease-and-desist communication dated Oct. 21, 2024, sent to the previous mayor.
That earlier letter formally declared the reclamations in Barangays Poblacion and Bunga Mar as illegal and unauthorized, citing records showing no clearance, permit, or authority had ever been issued to LGU-Jagna by the PRA.
The 2024 letter further ordered the municipality to immediately stop all reclamation works, including in surrounding submerged areas, and to submit documents, permits, approved survey plans, and land titles within 30 days.
PRA and DENR representatives had jointly inspected the sites on June 25, 2024.
Decades of reclamation, no permits
Jagna’s unauthorized reclamation did not happen overnight.
Jagna Councilor Anthony Aniscal, in an interview, laid out a timeline spanning more than three decades and several administrations — a succession of LGU leaders who expanded and improved the sites without ever securing the required national government authorization.
Aniscal said the baywalk reclamation began as early as 1994, when construction of the TESDA Jagna campus was undertaken during the administration of Mayor Alex Villacastin and Vice Mayor Marcing Tsurumi.
The first expansion came after May 17, 1999, when the old public market burned down and the fish market was relocated to a reclaimed area behind the gym along the baywalk, also during the Tsurumi era.
Between 2003 and 2005, debris excavated during the concreting of the Bohol Circumferential Road — a national infrastructure project — was dumped into the baywalk area under Mayor Eksam Lloren and Vice Mayor Teofisto Pagar Sr., further extending the reclaimed footprint.
Under Mayor Bicbic Abrenilla and Vice Mayor Dodong Virtudes Jr., plans to relocate the Land Transportation Office to the baywalk were shelved; the LTO eventually moved to Garcia Hernandez instead.
It was during the administration of Mayor Joseph Rañola and Vice Mayor Jojo Pagar that the baywalk was regularized and transformed into its present form — the manicured waterfront promenade that Jagna residents use today.
The Bunga Mar Fishport has a parallel story.
Aniscal said the fishport project was already underway during his first term as councilor under the Abrenilla administration and was completed during the Rañola-Pagar years.
“Daghan nang mga mayor ang niagi sukad pa niadtong dekada 90 ang gihimong reclamation projects,” Aniscal said — noting that many mayors have passed since the 1990s, each inheriting and adding to the reclamation without anyone ever resolving the permits question.
Aniscal made the disclosure during the Sangguniang Bayan’s regular session on Monday, March 16, 2026, where he said he fully supports Mayor Monungolh’s call to address the problem before it reaches the point of forfeiture.
Monungolh consulting lawyers, vows accountability
In a Facebook post, Monungolh acknowledged the gravity of the situation and signaled a deliberate, legally guided response.
“Sa pagkakaron, iyang gikonsulta ang iyang mga abogado ug mga eksperto sa balaod aron masuta pag-ayo ang kahimtang ug mapangitaan og legal ug praktikal nga solusyon ang maong problema nga gibilin sa niaging namunuan,” Monungolh wrote — saying he was consulting lawyers and legal experts to determine the exact situation and find practical legal remedies to a problem left by past Jagna leaders.
The mayor also assured the public that those who bear responsibility for the irregularity will be held accountable.
“Kon adunay mga tawo nga angay manubag niini nga kahimtang, sila manubag sumala sa balaod,” he said.
What the law says
Under Philippine law, all land reclamation projects — whether undertaken by national agencies, local government units, or private entities — require prior authorization from the PRA, the sole government body empowered to regulate such activities nationwide.
Presidential Decree No. 3-A, issued during the Marcos Sr. era, provides that any reclamation made in violation of existing laws is automatically forfeited in favor of the State through PRA, without the need for a court order.
PRA’s Administrative Order No. 2021-01, issued Feb. 15, 2021, operationalized this forfeiture mechanism, laying out rules and procedures for titling unauthorized reclaimed lands under PRA’s name.
To avoid forfeiture and regularize its reclamations, LGU-Jagna would need to engage a licensed Geodetic Engineer at its own expense to conduct a Joint Verification Survey (JVS) witnessed by PRA and DENR representatives, secure a Survey Authority (SA) from the DENR-CENRO, and comply with other documentary requirements under PRA’s regulatory framework.
Stakes for Jagna
The baywalk area and the Bunga Mar Fishport are among the municipality’s most visible public infrastructure assets.
The baywalk serves as the town’s principal recreational and tourism waterfront, while the Bunga Mar Fishport is a working fisheries facility serving the town’s coastal residents.
Should LGU-Jagna fail to comply within the 30-day window, PRA’s forfeiture mechanism would transfer ownership of both reclaimed sites to the national government — effectively stripping the municipality of properties that have been in public use for decades and into which successive local administrations have poured public funds.
The PRA Regulation Division can be reached at (02) 8815-2661 or info@pea.gov.ph. PRA’s reference number for the February 2026 follow-up letter is 03-057-2026.