BORACAY – Secretary Roy Cimatu of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) instructed the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) in Region 6 to continue checking solid waste management in Boracay Island and the quality of the island’s surrounding waters.
The goal is to sustain the environmental gains achieved through Boracay’s massive rehabilitation, said Cimatu.
The EMB is a line bureau under the DENR tasked to formulate plans, programs and appropriate environmental quality standards for the prevention and control of pollution and the protection of environment.
It is mandated to implement the five environmental laws – the Philippine Clean Air Act of 1999, Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000, Philippine Clean Water Act of 2004, Toxic Substances and Hazardous and Nuclear Waste Control Act of 1990, and the Environmental Impact Assessment System.
“Look at Boracay now. You can see for yourself how it is today. Will we allow it to become what it was before the rehabilitation,” said Cimatu.
He said the Boracay Interagency Task Force (BIATF) that he chairs is grateful for the all-out support given by environmental partners, businessmen, residents of Boracay and all those who visited the island.
“Such collaboration made it possible for the task force to keep the waters of Boracay Island clean, implement beach and road easements, enforce proper solid waste management, and recover wetlands,” said Cimatu.
He also commended the Boracay Inter-agency Management Rehabilitation Group (BIARMG) headed by General Manager Natividad Bernardino, and the local government of Aklan “by ensuring the smooth operation of all activities on the island to restore its vigor and improve its economy without sacrificing the environment.” (DENR-6/PN)
