CENRO, OPAV inspection shows : Oslob resorts encroach seas

CEBU, Philippines — At least 67 structures owned by various resorts in Oslob town, southern Cebu – considered the second top tourist destination in Central Visayas – are at risk of being demolished for allegedly violating the standard 20-meter easement from the shoreline.

But the Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) has assured that due process will be observed before authorities resort to their final recourse, which is demolition.

The inventory of structures intruding the beaches in Oslob is part of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-7’s efforts to ensure that local tourist destinations will not suffer the same fate as Boracay.

Oslob, which lies in the southeastern part of Cebu island, is a four-hour drive from the capital Cebu City.

Aside from its white sands, the town is also popular for its sightings of whale sharks or butanding, which have been attracting hordes of tourists for years now. Ten of the town’s barangays are facing the sea.

According to Shalimar Hofer Tamano, director of the Department of Tourism-7, of the 6.9 million foreign tourists who arrive in the Philippines every year, about 2.9 million visit attractions in Central Visayas.

In the region, Mactan remains the top drawer of foreign tourists, followed by Oslob, said Tamano.

In a phone interview yesterday, CENRO senior ecosystem management specialist Samuel Montejo told The FREEMAN that 67 resort establishments and 269 houses have been initially identified as encroaching Oslob’s shorelines.

“Let me clarify that not the entire structure but only a portion of the structure has encroached on the 20-meter easement or what we call as the environmental protection zone,” Montejo said.

Under the law, the easement or setback from the shoreline’s high-water mark is 20 meters.

Montejo also clarified that the inventory is still ongoing and a final assessment will follow.

In their final assessment, CENRO workers will use an instrument to determine that the structures are indeed encroaching on the 20-meter easement zone.

If the law is strictly followed, these encroaching structures should have been demolished. But Montejo said the local office has to follow “due process.”

After the inventory, the next step is to notify concerned resort owners and households by issuing them a notice of violation.  CENRO will then call for a meeting to have a dialogue with involved stakeholders so all parties can come up with an agreement on how to address the concerns, and more importantly, correct the violations.

If they refuse to settle, then that’s the time the local government unit will impose a demolition through a court order.

Inspections

Curbing environmental violations by top beach resorts has become one of the main thrusts of DENR.

This, as the deteriorating state of marine environment has been partly attributed to commercial businesses that have mushroomed on the shorelines, many of which have no regard to environmental policies and regulations.

Presidential Assistant for the Visayas Michael Lloyd Dino, who initiated inspections on the island of Panglao in Bohol and in Oslob, said he plans to visit next other islands in Cebu such as Bantayan and Camotes, among others.

He also intends to convene and talk to all tourism stakeholders to urge them to do “self-rehabilitation” of their own beach resorts.

Dino said he has formed a technical working group for this rehabilitation effort. The special body is composed of the local offices of DENR; the DOT; the Department of Public Works and Highways; and the local government units.

He said LGUs will have to see to it that resort owners are compliant with the ordinances and other local environmental policies imposed in their localities.

DENR, for its part, will monitor whether these stakeholders follow the environmental laws while the DOT will be responsible for disciplining resort owners.

So far, though, Dino said resort owners have been receptive to his appeal.

“They know that the government means business. If we order to close them, then we will close them,” he said.

He said DPWH can assist in the demolitions while the Office of the Presidential Assistant for the Visayas (OPAV) can keep its watch to ensure that everyone is doing their job. —/JMD (FREEMAN)