DENR chief breaks silence on reported family landholdings

Environment Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga on Friday broke her silence on allegations that her position as Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) chief clashes with her family's vast landholdings.

- BELLA CARIASO

In a statement, Loyzaga denied that her family owns at least 40,000 hectares of the Busuanga Pasture Reserve.

"I wish to clarify that the Busuanga Pasture Reserve has always been government-owned. The Yulo family has never owned this land and has no interest in owning it," Loyzaga maintained.

In his "Gotcha" column in The STAR, Jarius Bondoc said the Yulo King Ranch (YKR) was accused of land grabbing, involving 40,000 hectares of forests and ancestral domains in the towns of Coron and Busuanga in Palawan.

Loyzaga dismissed allegations that her family is a party to the negotiations being undertaken by the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) for its utilization or distribution of the Busuanga Pasture Reserve.