[av_one_full first min_height=” vertical_alignment=” space=” custom_margin=” margin=’0px’ padding=’0px’ border=” border_color=” radius=’0px’ background_color=” src=” background_position=’top left’ background_repeat=’no-repeat’ animation=”]
[av_heading heading=’DU30 MULLS STATE OF CALAMITY’ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=’30’ subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’18’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=” av-medium-font-size-title=” av-small-font-size-title=” av-mini-font-size-title=” av-medium-font-size=” av-small-font-size=” av-mini-font-size=” admin_preview_bg=”]
BY PRINCE GOLEZ
[/av_heading]
[av_textblock size=” font_color=” color=” av-medium-font-size=” av-small-font-size=” av-mini-font-size=” admin_preview_bg=”]
Wednesday, March 7, 2018
[/av_textblock]
[av_textblock size=’18’ font_color=” color=” av-medium-font-size=” av-small-font-size=” av-mini-font-size=” admin_preview_bg=”]
Courts told not to interfere in Boracay cleanup
MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte said he would declare a state of calamity in Boracay due to the island’s environmental problems.
He warned courts not to interfere by issuing a temporary restraining order to avoid “exacerbat(ing the) situation.”
The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) proposed that Boracay be placed under a state of calamity to speed up the island’s rehabilitation.
“If I were from Boracay or you guys there, the best thing you could do is to cooperate with the government to hasten the cleanup,” said the President, referring to business owners.
Earlier Duterte gave Environment secretary Roy Cimatu six months to address Boracay’s environmental problems such as the discharge of untreated wastewater into the sea.
“For as long as there are shit coming out of those pipes draining to the sea, I will never give you the time of the day na bumalik diyan,” said Duterte, addressing business operators in Boracay.
On Feb. 26, the Department of Tourism suspended the accreditation of new establishments in Boracay.
Duterte said the environmental problems of the island, the country’s top tourist destination and big revenue earner, affects public interest.
“’Yung magkasakit, ‘yung virus or bacteria of all kinds…nandyan lahat. It could be a health issue…and also a public safety concern,” said Duterte.
According to Cimatu, fueling the island’s degradation over the years were runaway development, the influx of people beyond the island’s carrying capacity, poor implementation of environmental regulations, and encroachment of structures.
DILG, meanwhile, created a 12-person team to investigate and file charges against local government officials and personnel and private individuals liable for the environmental problems of Boracay.
The team will, among others, look into the use of the environmental fee collected by the local government of Malay, Aklan if it is according to the law, said DILG officer-in-charge Eduardo Año.
The environmental fee is P75. It is collected from all tourists entering Boracay.
“Their investigation shall cover a period of 10 years, reckoning from the year 2008 up to 2018. I expect them to submit a comprehensive report on the result of their probe as soon as possible,” said Año.
Full accountability will be exacted from DENR officials and personnel, too, tasked to protect Boracay but failed to do so, according to Environment undersecretary Rodolfo Garcia.
DENR would investigate such personnel to see if they conspired with Boracay establishments in violating environmental laws or neglected to carry out their tasks, he said.
“I don’t think anybody should go scot-free if he or she committed something wrong,” said Garcia.
Boracay is under the jurisdiction of DENR Region 6.
In an interview last week, DENR Region 6 director Jim Sampulna insisted he was doing his best to address environmental problems in Boracay.
Still, he said, he could only do so much “because hindi ako ang hari ng Boracay.”/PN
[/av_textblock]
[/av_one_full]
