Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu issued Department of Environment and Natural Resource Administrative Order (DAO) 2021-36, declaring the 405-hectare Sasmuan Bangkung Malapad Coastal Wetland in Sasmuan town as a critical habitat and ecotourism area. The move aims to intensify government efforts in the rehabilitation of Manila Bay, and the protection of mangrove and coastal ecosystem, including migratory birds that frequent the area. Under the DAO, the said coastal wetland will now be formally known as the Sasmuan Bangkung Malapad Critical Habitat and Ecotourism Area (SBMCHEA) and will be sustainably managed by the DENR and the local government of Sasmuan in Pampanga.

Flora, I. O. (2021, November 30). Bangkung Malapad now an eco-tourism area. SunStar Pampanga, p. 3.