Senators want government executives, firms charged over Boracay mess

MANILA, Philippines — Senators yesterday strongly recommended the filing of criminal and other charges against local executives, officials of concerned national agencies, as well as owners of business establishments responsible for the environmental degradation of the world-famous Boracay island.

Senators Cynthia Villar and Loren Legarda said based on their onsite hearing last Friday, it was clear there were blatant violations of environmental laws and local officials had been lax in enforcing them.

Villar, chair of the Senate committee on environment, said it was “common sense” that the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) should prosecute those responsible for the degradation of Boracay.

During the hearing held on the island, DENR officials led by Secretary Roy Cimatu revealed that five out of nine wetlands have been run over by resorts and malls due to overdevelopment and corruption.

Villar noted that local officials did not require business applicants to secure an environmental clearance certificate from the DENR.

She also noted some DENR officials may have been remiss in allowing the expansion of resorts and hotels in Boracay.

Villar proposed the top tourist destinations in the country should be co-managed by both the local government and concerned national agencies like the DENR and the Department of Tourism (DOT).

Legarda, vice chair of the committee, said environmental laws, especially the Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, and the Ecological Solid Waste Management Law, are relatively easy to comply with and good for business.

“The problem in Boracay is also the problem of many ecotourism areas and other communities in the country, which is why the government must strictly enforce environmental laws, while residents and business establishments should also comply with our laws,” she said. 

Legarda suggested the DENR, DOT, and DILG enter into a joint undertaking with the Office of the Ombudsman for the filing of cases against local government units that fail to implement the country’s environmental laws. She said the island must have sewerage and septage systems as she cited figures from the DENR that around 17.5 million liters of wastewater is generated in Boracay island every day and only about half is treated properly, while the other half is discharged untreated.

About 30 to 40 percent of the untreated wastewater comes from private homes, and the rest from business establishments.

A mall in Boracay has claimed the DENR has issued the necessary permits to construct over a wetland site in the island destination. 

In a statement, the administration of D’Mall said that it was issued an environmental compliance certificate by the DENR’s Environmental Management Bureau in 2004. 

They said they have complied with all requirements for the business as well as solid waste management regulations in Boracay. 

Over the weekend, DILG Assistant Secretary Epimaco Densing revealed D’Mall was among the settlers on the island’s wetlands. 

Densing vowed to dismantle the illegal structures in the area during the looming 60-day closure of the island resort.

“There will be a lot of structures, which will be dismantled or destroyed,” he said.

Densing said the uncovering of the Boracay mess started with the massive flooding last year, which they attributed to illegal structures in the wetlands. 

He also appealed to business owners to cooperate once their structures are tagged illegal and face dismantling. – With Romina Cabrera, Ben Serrano

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