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Wednesday, February 21, 2018
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In 6 months Boracay a ‘paradise again’ – Cimatu
ILOILO City – The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is embarking on a very challenging mission: make Boracay Island “a paradise again” in six months. Can it do this?
Secretary Roy Cimatu announced the deployment of a “mission team” to address the environmental woes in the world-famous island in Aklan province.
The team is composed of 50 personnel from six DENR regional offices.
“Their mission is to rehabilitate and restore Boracay into a paradise again. We are given six months by the President,” Cimatu told employees of the DENR central office in Quezon City.
Boracay Island will be divided into six areas. Each of the six DENR regional offices will be assigned an area to work on.
Meanwhile, DENR Region 6 director Jim Sampulna revealed 842 Show Cause Orders were being prepared for entities illegally occupying Boracay’s timberland areas.
“These forests – upland and mangrove – belong to the state. It is not supposed to be inhabited,” said Sampulna.
DENR will also strictly impose the 25+5 meters easement between the shoreline and establishments on the beachfront of Boracay, he announced.
“They are not allowed to have their establishments within the 30 meters easement from the highest tide,” said Sampulna.
Last week, DENR issued notices of violation to 37 business establishments found to have violated some conditions in their environmental compliance certificates, specifically in connecting to the sewage treatment plant or installation of their own wastewater treatment facilities.
These establishments failed to renew their discharge permits.
“The reason why there is flooding in the island is because some business establishments connect to the drainage canal intended for rain water. It is much cheaper than connecting to the sewerage system but that is a clear violation of the Clean Water Act,” said Sampulna.
President Rodrigo Duterte recently ordered Cimatu to find ways to end the environmental woes of Boracay within six months.
“We will be using all government assets and DENR personnel to do the job,” said Cimatu.
Director Metodio Turbella of DENR’s Environmental Management Bureau is already in the island to assist Sampulna, according to the Secretary.
The President described Boracay as a “cesspool” and threatened to shut it down.
“This is really a marching order from the President and I must tell you now that we should not fail,” said Cimatu, a former Armed Forces chief. “Not only the President, we should not fail our people.”
Although the President said he would shut down Boracay if DENR could not fix the island’s environmental problems in six months, Sampulna believed the country’s chief executive might change his mind “when he sees that the people are working hard toreally manage and protect the island.”/PN
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