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BY CAROLYN JANE ABELLO
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Thursday, March 1, 2018
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ILOILO City – “Hindi ako ang hari ng Boracay.”
He is not the king of Boracay Island, stressed Director Jim Sampulna of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in Region 6.
He was reacting to an item in the “Lapsus” column of Panay News on Tuesday that ran a comment from a reader regarding Boracay.
Part of “the Lapsus” item read: “Director Jim Sampulna of the DENR dapat responsible sa natabu sa Boracay. Bakit ngayon lang ang 25+5 nga prohibition on long beach or coastal area? Bakit ngayon lang gin bawal ang timberland area as a no-build zone?”
Sampulna did not directly address the questions but 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.”
President Rodrigo Duterte gave DENR six months to clean Boracay up or he would order its closure.
Fueling the island’s degradation over the years, according to DENR, are runaway development, the influx of people beyond the island’s carrying capacity, poor implementation of environmental regulations, and encroachment of structures.
The Lapsus item further read: “Why did he tolerate the construction of buildings without communicating with the LGU in Malay that it is bawal? The former PENRO and CENRO in Aklan were issued a dismissal order by the Ombudsman. Bakit si Sampulna hindi nadawit? It is because his father was a former soldier and tauhan ni Sec. Cimatu?”
Sampulna did not address the “tolerate the construction of buildings” question but denied he was close to Cimatu.
He said his father, a soldier and World War II veteran, died long before Cimatu became the Armed Forces Chief of Staff.
As to the dismissal of the provincial and community ENR officer in Aklan, Sampulna said their dismissal had not nothing to do with Boracay’s current state but due to another issue – malfeasance.
Actually, Sampulna said, five DENR employees were dismissed by the Ombudsman./PN
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