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Friday, October 27, 2017
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OUTSIDE of the United States, Boracay and two other Philippine islands – Cebu and Palawan –
topped a travel magazine’s 2017 list of 30 best islands in the world. This is good news, coming as it is in the wake of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources – Environmental Management Bureau’s (DENR-EMB) disco very that 12 commercial establishments in Boracay illegally used the storm drain canals to discharge wastewater.
The government should work hard to make Boracay a model for ecological solid waste management (ESWM). The island, known for its white sand beaches and pristine waters, will lose its attractiveness fast if tourists find it unclean.
DENR must exercise utmost vigilance especially in monitoring compliance to or violation of environmental laws such as the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act (Republic Act 9003) and the Clean Water Act (Republic A 9275), even as the EMB already plugged the pipes from the establishments leading to the storm drain canals and had issued notices of violation.
Yes, there must be a stronger implementation of Republic Act 9003 and full compliance to it by all local government units, including the barangays. According to the DENR, there are still 420 LGUs with open dumpsites, which are prohibited under the law. By the way, materials recovery facilities in communities need not be expensive. These should be made only from recycled and indigenous materials. Everyone can practice waste segregation in the office and at home.
Let us make Boracay a model green island that exercises the elements of a blue economy, respecting and protecting the water around it.
Let us do the same in other tourist havens that are heavily populated.
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