AND THE beaches look sparkling clean, the waters seemingly pristine once more.
From all indications President Rodrigo Duterte was right in closing down Boracay for six months to give the island a chance to breathe, clean up the mess and the cesspools (literally the ones found under the beach).
Let’s be on the positive side here and assume they have sorted out the sewage water problem and found ways to clean up the shit coming out of establishments in the island.
Let’s also assume for the sake of everyone who has a stake in Boracay that they have cleaned up the wetlands by removing the informal settlers, if you want to use the politically correct term. (But however cute you want to be, they’re still squatters and it’s their shit that clogged up the wetlands.) And hopefully they have or started to restore the wetlands to its former state, maybe not to the original but close enough.
Well and good, it seems Boracay is on its way to retain its glory as one of the “Best Beaches in the World” and will no longer be the cesspool it almost turned out to be.
Of course, an environmental disaster of that magnitude was manmade, born out basically from greed facilitated by corruption.
Naturally there are people responsible for this mess and they should be held accountable and be punished for their heinous crime against Mother Nature.
Excerpts from the June 28 of Panay News:
17 Aklan officials face raps over Boracay woes
The Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) filed graft and administrative complaints before the Office of the Ombudsman against 17 Aklan government officials over Boracay’s environmental problem.
DILG undersecretary Epimaco Densing III charged Aklan governor Florencio Miraflores, Malay mayor Ciceron Cawaling and 15 other municipal officials on Wednesday.
Densing accused Miraflores of serious neglect of duty in ensuring the island’s sustainability.
He also accused Cawaling and the Malay officials of issuing establishments permits to operate despite them not securing fire safety inspection certificates.
Among the Malay officials who were charged were Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Officer Valentin Talabero, Vice Mayor Abram Sualog, Sangguniang Bayan members Natalie Cawaling-Paderes, Jupiyer Gallenero, Frolibar Bautista, Lloyd Maming, Dalidig Sumandad, Maylynn Aguirre-Graf, Danilo Delos Santos, and Dante Pagsuguiron, Licensing Officer III Jen Salsona, Municipal Environment and Natural Resources Officer Edgardo Sancho, and barangay officials Hector Casidsid, Chona Gabay and Lilibeth Sacapaño.
Again well and good but it seems this filing of charges created questions and another mess this time not on the beaches and waters of Boracay.
Excerpts from the June 30 issue of Panay News:
PENRO-Aklan chief to file counter charges vs Densing
Aklan’s Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (PENRO) head Valentin Talabero will file counter charges against Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) undersecretary Epimaco Densing III in relation to the administrative and graft charges the latter has filed against him.
Talabero and 16 local officials in Aklan face charges before the Office of the Ombudsman for allegedly being negligent in ensuring the world-famous Boracay Island’s sustainability, which resulted to environmental problems, among others.
Densing accused them of failing to perform their functions under Republic Act (RA) 7160 or the Local Government Code of 1991.
Talabero said the inclusion of his name in the list of respondents was “totally erroneous.”
As head of PENRO-Aklan, Talabero said he is under the DENR, not the provincial government, thus not covered by the mandate of RA 7160.
Talabero asserted that the DILG and the DENR are “separate agencies.”
At best this could be just a typographical error, perhaps overlooked or worse, not researched properly by the DILG personnel assigned the task; they have a term for it in government, “not completed staff work.”
And what about the DILG field personnel assigned in the Municipality of Malay?
They have a permanent Municipal Local Government Operations Officer or MLGOO stationed there, currently the MLGOO in Malay is Racefin O. Suco.
As a government official or civil servant you are duty-bound to at the very least report if something is amiss, and what has happened in Boracay for the last 10 years is not something you ignore or pretend it’s none of your business.
Questions were also raised about the role, responsibility and accountability of the Environmental Management Bureau Region 6 or EMB 6 and their Regional Director Dr. Sophie T. Manuel, and what about Engr. Ricardo D. Benjamin, EMG 6 PEMO-Aklan Province.
Take note people that “Solid Waste Management” is one of the main functions and responsibilities of the Environmental Management Bureau or EMB.
Boracay was on the verge of literally turning into a cesspool because of improper or the lack of “solid waste management” in the disposal of sewage waters and all that shit coming from most of the establishments and households in the island.
If the filing of charges against those 17 government officials is just the start, then “well and good.” But if that’s it, then another mess is brewing in Boracay. (brotherlouie16@gmail.com/PN)
