PRELIM ASSIGNMENT

MMEP 631: Special Problem in Urban & Regional Planning

Proposal of a Policy in the

Rehabilitation of Matabungkay Beach Lian Batangas

Submitted by:
Mark Andrei Lapitan Gubac
Batch 2- Section D

Submitted to:

Dr. Kelvin R. Mamitag, EnP, MPSA

Adjunct Professor
Hon. Maria Esperanza Christina Frasco
Secretary of Tourism
Department of Tourism
Republic of the Philippines

Subject: Policy Position Paper in Addressing the Problem of Matabungkay Beach Lian,
Batangas

Dear Secretary Frasco;

Greeting of Peace!

First of all, I would like to congratulate you for the successful launch of Love the Philippines
as our new Tourism Slogan. We in the Municipality of Lian Batangas is committed to help in the
campaign to make our Tourism industry flourish. As we all know tourism is one of the main drivers
of economic growth, we in Lian Batangas have been benefiting on the fruits of tourism as we
possess beautiful coastline that is nearly accessible from the capital and other nearby provinces.

Needless to say, tourism is considered as a successful way for making money and most
of the countries around the world are investing in this field. One among several accomplishments
because of a well-developed tourism industry is the more job opportunities for local people which
cause the reduction of financial problems. Local shops, small business and regional markets
would be active and many of local labors who have to immigrate to other cities or even other
countries will find jobs in their hometown.

In this regard I am writing to your good office about the state of our beaches specifically
Matabungkay Beach, Back in the ’80s and ’90s, the beach of Matabungkay was the ultimate
destination for yuppies and college students who were looking for a perfect weekend getaway
from the city. Families would also bring their kids to Matabungkay’s white sand beach during
summertime. For those who grew up around Metro Manila and the provinces to its south,
Matabungkay formed part of their childhood memories. But over the years, the popularity of
Matabungkay has dwindled and reviews of the beach do not entice.

Matabungkay’s success also contributed to its downfall since the uncontrolled

development resulted in overcrowding. Today, visitors to Matabungkay are welcomed by the sight
of numerous structures nearly taking over the shoreline. Boats, either for fishing or to offer round-
trip rides for tourists visiting the place, jostle for space on the water.Moreover, the rise of new
beach destinations added to the decline of Matabungkay’s tourism fortunes.

I respectfully present this draft proposal to you for review because I believe you can help
us clarify the Department's position on Matabunkay Beach's restoration and return to its former
grandeur. This concept, in my opinion, has the power to significantly influence the Department
of Tourism's initiative to revitalize tourist destinations across the nation. I would be more than
happy to go into further depth about this recommendation and provide any extra data or insights
that could be useful for the evaluation and application process. Your opinions and input would
be extremely helpful in developing this concept further.
I appreciate you taking my proposal into account. I honestly think that DOT can benefit
from this concept, and I anxiously look forward to hearing from you. I'm grateful for your time,a
concern for this issue.

Best Regards
Mark Andrei Gubac
Special Assistant to the Mayor
Municipality of Lian Batangas
 REHABILITATION OF MATABUNGKAY BEACH MUNICIPALITY OF LIAN BATANGAS

OVERVIEW

Matabungkay Beach resort continues to be the go-to destination in Lian, Batangas. Just
three to four hours travel time from manila. The southern paradise has been appealing to couples
and families looking for a classic and quick getaway. Matabungkay Beach resort accepts day
tours, team building activities which gives guests access to all the facilities. The classic beach
features creamy white-sand shores, rustling denim blue waves, fun and engaging watersports
activities, and many more.

Back in the 1980s and 1990s, Matabungkay Beach was the go-to spot for yuppies and
college students looking for a nice weekend escape from the city. During the summer, families
would also bring their children to Matabungkay's white sand beach. Matabungkay was a part of
many childhood memories for individuals who grew up in Metro Manila and the provinces to the
south. The bamboo rafts, which take guests out to sea to enjoy their lunch while diving to observe
the reefs, were one of the most popular attractions at Matabungkay beach. Matabungkay's
signature attraction became this. However, Matabungkay's popularity has waned over time, and
the beach's reviews aren't promising. "It's not what it used to be," According to those reviews that
we check online, and "The sand isn't as fine as it used to be." Matabungkay beach featured fine,
white sand in the 1990s. It wasn't as fine as Boracay's powdery beaches, but it was chock-full of
unusual shells. People used to gather shells and transport them home in buckets. There were no
regulations in place at the time for shell gathering. However, today's generation is enforcing the
law by bringing shells home. On the beach today, there are very few shells. Because of erosion
or excessive sand gathering by tourists, most of the sand had lost its quality. By the late 2010s,
tourists had turned away from the beach, which had developed a reputation for being overly
commercialized and polluted.

Statement of the Problem

Matabungkay Beach is a tourist spot in the Philippines. The government have been proposing
the need for the rehabilitation of the Beach. Rehabilitation, in the case of a tourist spot, means
the restoration of the natural environment to bring it back to its original condition. Matabungkay
beach have the ensuing rehabilitation purpose because of the following indicators:

Lack of sewage system and wastewater treatment: The shortage of proper sewage systems and
wastewater treatment facilities can lead to increased pollution, diseases and make a place
inhabitable. In Matabungkay Beach, the current sewage systems are not of standard in the said
barangays implying a lack of proper sewage systems. It is important to have a proper sewage
system to ensure clean and healthy surroundings for both humans and animals. Also, the
residents don't know the distinction between the sewage systems meant for flooding rainwater
out of the coastal waters and those meant for water treatment facilities. This has resulted in
wastes being near the beaches and making the beach a cesspool. So, this is one of the main
indicators which give a reason for the government to rehabilitate.

The inability of resorts to manage wastewater: The Philippine government has given discharge
permits to hotels and establishment operating on the Beach. But, the problem is that some hotels
and establishment are unable to treat their wastewater as efficiently as others and also, there are
increasing problem of wastewater management on the beach. They are not able to do this
because they do not have the capability for wastewater treatments as it requires hard efforts.
Also, the administrators cannot check their work throughout the day, hence, it creates a barrier
on the part of monitoring. This again indicates why Matabungkay Beach is required to be
rehabilitated.

Road congestion: The roads on the Barangay where Matabungkay Beach is located are
congested and roads are capacitated with vehicles more than it can handle. On Matabungkay
Beach, the roads can handle only small traffic of vehicles during peak season. This increases the
problem arising from the congestion of roads like pollution, increased waste of time, increased
energy consumption, etc. So, this again gives an affirmative reason for the government to close
and prompt to rehabilitate the beach as the capacity for managing vehicles is less than what it
can handle.

Disappearing wetlands: Wetlands play an important role in cleaning the water. These wetlands
tend to treat the rainwater before it is discharged into the sea. On Matabungkay Beach these
wetlands are disappearing due to the excessive construction of houses, resorts, etc on the said
baranggay. Hence, this is another major issue which the government has to deal with during the
rehabilitation.
EFFECTS OF REHABILITATING MATABUNGKAY BEACH

There are effects of the propose Matabungkay Beach rehabilitation program to the three
(3) dimensions of sustainable tourism (environmental, economic, and social). Sustainable tourism
means that a tourist spot should not only meet the needs of the tourists but also it should be
preserved for future generations and meet the needs of all the stakeholders like industry, native
people, tourists, government, and the environmentalists. In the case of Matabungkay Beach the
three pillars of sustainable tourism will have the following effect due to the rehabilitation of the
beach:

Economic: An economic pillar refers to the financial stability of all the economic
participants by ensuring decent work and earnings at the least cost to the environment. This
means ensuring maximum benefits to society as a whole. Due to the propose rehabilitation of the
beach, many people will lose jobs in the informal and formal sectors. The business sales will go
down as the place will be closed for tourists. The unemployed people will have to shift from the
beach to other areas to find jobs. So, the rehabilitation may dislocate many people and cause
damage to their livelihoods. Hence, the overall economic effect of closure is negative in the short
run as resorts will be closed and the people have to migrate. But, in the long run, once the
rehabilitation has ended, it will open up better opportunities both, in terms of job and livelihood,
for people thereby, enhancing the economic pillar of sustainable tourism after the closure has
ended.
Environmental: An environment pillar refers to the policies and actions taken to restore
the natural environment like managing water, sir and soil pollution, wastewater and solid waste
management, etc. Due to the rehabilitation of the environment, the Matabungkay Beach will be
rehabilitated in all respects. These include restoring the wetlands which will help in better
rainwater treatment. For this, the government shall halt the construction of establishments in
various places. Also, the sewage system and the wastewater treatment system will be improved
by building the sewage system in the barangay, thus, eliminating the problem of the cesspool.
The Matabungkay Beach should use its tons of garbage every day by converting Biodegradable
wastes into fertilizers, selling the recyclable ones to junk buying shops, and sending the rest to
the dumping grounds. Treating the problem of wastewater is most important because it's both
risky for human health and the health of natural habitats and water bodies. Hence, the effect of
the rehabilitation on the environmental pillar of sustainable tourism will have positive effects as
the natural environment will be restored and then the tourism industry will begin its operation. This
closure is necessary to revamp the Matabungkay Beach and make it more environmentally
sustainable for future use.
Social: Social pillar refers to the concept of ensuring equitable distribution of income and
benefits to all the participants and non-participants of economic activity. Here, under tourism, this
means that the native people and community enjoy the benefits of tourism without any cost in the
form of environmental problems. Under this pillar of sustainable tourism, the government should
also promised to relocate the families which are affected due to the wetland restoration process.
Also, the road widening project and the construction of sewage systems projects should provide
work opportunities for people who were not earning enough thus ensuring better livelihood. Also,
after the rehabilitation has ended, the inhabitants will have better job opportunities and the
environment will be safe enough for settlement purposes. Thus, this ensures a better quality of
life for them. Hence, the rehabilitation of Matabungkay Beach will ensure better social
sustainability for tourism in the future. So, the effect of the closure on sustainable tourism is
positive as all the three pillars will be enhanced due to this proposal of the government to
rehabilitate Matabungkay Beach for a few months.

RECOMNMENDATION

Matabungkay Beach had the problem of lack of sewage and wastewater treatment systems, road
congestion, and the vanishing wetlands. To resolve this problem, the National and Local
government should take many steps to improve the situation of Matabungkay Beach. Some
further steps are mentioned below to avoid this problem to appear again in the future:

It is important to set up a monitoring committee to check on the actions of the resorts in managing
their wastewater treatment facilities. Any resort failing to manage its wastewater properly should
be punished by either paying heavy compensation or a full closure of their businesses.

Excessive construction needs to be reduced to avoid the destruction of wetlands. For this, there
need to be caps on the number of settlers on Matabungkay Beach. This will curb the excessive
requirements for establishments on the Matabungkay Beach.

The transportation system needs to be improved. For this, the government should increase the
footpaths for tourists and citizens to walk to their destination. This will reduce the need for vehicles
on the road and reduce congestion. Thus, putting a limit on vehicles on road and increasing
footpaths will work in the long term.

It is important to make citizens and tourists aware of the problems their actions can impose on
the island. So, an awareness program should be initiated in order to remind the people about the
problems that arise due to insensitive waste disposal. There should be punitive measures for their
actions to prevent any stakeholder from irresponsible behavior.

All these measures will work to prevent Matabungkay Beach to face the same issue anytime in
the future again in addition to the government measures. This will remove the problem of improper
waste management and insensitive behavior to waste disposal. Hence, these measures will be
implemented to prevent the problem from arising again in the future.

REFERENCE:

Huttche et al, Coastal Tourism Hand Book of the Philippines

https://www.philstar.com/business/2019/10/07/1957934/dot-rehabilitate-matabungkay-beach
https://www.esquiremag.ph/long-reads/features/what-ever-happened-to-matabungkay-beach-
a00293-20200709-lfrm