Cimatu to new BMB chief: Bring puka shells back to Boracay

The lead agency tasked to conserve the country’s rich biological diversity has a new chief and Environment Secretary Roy A. Cimatu wants her to immediately get on board government efforts to rehabilitate the pollution-challenged Boracay Island.

 Crisanta Marlene Rodriguez officially took the helm at the Biodiversity Management Bureau (BMB) from Dr. Theresa Mundita Lim, who is transferring to the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity as its new executive director. BMB is a staff bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

 During the recent turnover ceremony, Cimatu gave Rodriguez marching orders to take an active role in bringing back to its pristine state the island first known for the rare puka shells.

 “We have a mission in Boracay. My challenge to you now is to bring back the puka shells. The Filipino people from the whole country will be watching you,” Cimatu told Rodriguez.

 “We should show to the Filipino people that we would finish what we have started,” said Cimatu, who was earlier tasked by President Rodrigo Duterte to clean up Boracay which he described as a “cesspool” due to environmental damage.

 Cimatu has just announced the establishment of a 750-hectare critical habitat for threatened species within the world-famous resort island. The undertaking is part of the grand plan to restore Boracay’s pristine waters, lush green forests and wetlands.

 In response, Rodriguez said she was ready to take on the challenge. “The Boracay issue is only the tip of the iceberg, and though the task remains to be Sisyphean, it is one task that we will continue to undertake simply because it is what needs to be done,” she said.

 “Public opinion and perception of our work prepared us. But forge on, we must, for though it may be bloody, we shall remain unbowed,” she added.

 Prior to becoming BMB head, Rodriguez served as director of DENR’s Region 5 office. A forester by profession after graduating from Bicol State University, she also served as a Community Environment and Natural Resources Officer.

 Meanwhile, Cimatu commended Lim for her hard work and dedication in the more than two decades she spent at the DENR, 15 years of which as head of the BMB, formerly the Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau.

 During her service, Lim earned accolades for her excellent work in government service and natural sciences.

Lim, in return, thanked Cimatu “for inspiring the BMB to become the best in just eleven months.”

 “It is under Secretary Cimatu’s watch that we can unleash the true value of our protected areas, for helping facilitate the passage of the Expanded National Integrated Protected Areas System Act or E-NIPAS, and for the successful hosting of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species,” Lim said. ###

DENR press releases and other news/feature articles are posted at the DENR website: www.denr.gov.ph. For queries/comments, write: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

14 establishments asked to leave Puerto Galera easement zone

Moving on with its cleanup of major tourist destinations in the region, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources MIMAROPA on Friday served 14 establishments with notices to vacate and to remove voluntarily the structures they have built on easement zones in Sabang and White Beach, two popular beaches in Puerto Galera in Oriental Mindoro.

DENR MIMRAROPA Assistant Regional Director and Task Force Galera Chair Dr Vicente Tuddao, Jr.  personally served the notices to Tina's Sunset Cottages, Restaurant & Dive Center, Ocean Dream Lodge, Paradise Dive Zone Resort, Corp., Pink & Black Lodging House, Montani Beach Resort, Sabang Inn, Sabang Divers, Mangosteen Restaurant , Dive Dojo, Mermaid Resort Charletan, Inc., Modem Development Company Inc., Captn Gregg, Eddie's Place Bar & Restautant, Marginor Diner & Snack, and I Dive at Casa Mia.

Except for Marginor Diner & Snack and I Dive at Casa Mia which are in Barangay San Isidro, the rest are in Barangay Sabang.

 The establishments were given 30 days to comply.

“We hope they will be responsible enough to remove the structures they have built on easement zones within that period.  The sooner we can start the rehabilitation of Sabang and White Beach, the better,” Tuddao said.

Apart from clearing up the three-meter easement zone, Task Force Galera also inspected establishments for compliance to environmental regulations such as securing discharge permit, environmental compliance certificate, permit to operate, hazardous waste registration, compliance to solid waste segregation, and having a Pollution Control Officer.

The absence of proper wastewater disposal facility, aggravated by overcrowding of structures along the beaches, is seen as a major source of coliform contamination of Sabang and White Beach. Water quality tests in five sampling stations in Puerto Galera from 2009 to 2017 show high fecal coliform levels.

DENR MIMAROPA Regional Director Natividad Bernardino said notices of violations shall also be served in the coming days to establishments found violating environmental rules.

Bernardino said she hopes people appreciates what DENR is doing is for the long-term good of everyone. “Who would want to visit Puerto Galera in the future if its beaches has become too dirty and hazardous to swim in?” she asks.

Bernardino adds that DENR is trying to rehabilitate Puerto Galera not only for tourism but also for scientific researches.

In 1977, Puerto Galera was declared Man and Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO , an international recognition that it is a model of sustainable development which provides “living observatories.” In 2014, however, UNESCO almost strip Puerto Galera of this recognition after it concluded that the town did not meet the criteria. It was only in July 2017 that the status was affirmed after the local government submitted an Integrated Management Plan. ###

DENR press releases and other news/feature articles are posted at the DENR website: www.denr.gov.ph. For queries/comments, write: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

DENR to establish critical habitat in Boracay

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is coming up with an administrative order establishing a 750-hectare critical habitat for threatened species within the world-famous resort island of Boracay.

DENR Secretary Roy A. Cimatu announced this following a recent meeting with representatives of Boracay resorts and other businesses, who have expressed their full support behind the establishment of the critical habitat area.

“We shall establish the Boracay Island Critical Habitat to protect and conserve the forests and coastal marine areas located in barangays Balabag and Yapak, which serve as habitat of colonies of the flying foxes, the nesting grounds of marine turtles, and the nascent corals sprouting in the reef,” Cimatu said during the meeting held at the Biodiversity Management Bureau (BMB) training center in Quezon City.

According to the environment secretary, the creation of a critical habitat is a testament to the DENR’s “commitment to bringing back Boracay’s robust ecology.”

“It shall provide a platform for a community driven ecosystem management approach that guarantees the collective participation of local government units, business sector, people’s organizations, private land owners, thereby integrating biodiversity conservation as part of the island’s development planning process, and way of life of the people,” he added.

The former military chief promised that he will not allow further degradation of the ecosystems and species within the island, which is “dependent on its biodiversity for water, soil stabilization, food and as a tourist attraction.”

Among those present at the meeting were representatives of Seven Seas Waterpark and Resort, Alta Vista Boracay, Movenpick Resort and Spa, Shangri-la Boracay, Costa Vista Boracay, Mabuhay Maritime Express and Resort, San Miguel Corp., Boracay Business Administration of Scuba Shops, Crimson Resort and Spa, and Boracay Property Holdings.

Former BMB Director Theresa Mundita Lim, now Executive Director of the ASEAN Center for Biodiversity, said the establishment of critical habitat will help protect several species in the area, including the endangered golden-crowned flying fox (Acerodon jubatus), which can only be found in the country.

“Some of the species, such as the common Asian ghost bat (Megaderma spasma) that live inside the surveyed caves, feed on mosquitoes and other insects which lessen diseases such as malaria and dengue,” said Lim, who is a licensed veterinarian.

Also found in the area are other species of flying foxes, such as the greater flying fox (Pteropusvampyrus) and the island flying fox (Pteropus hypomelanus); and coastal and marine species like the critically endangered Hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) and the endangered green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas). 

There were also sightings of the Leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) and Olive ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea) in the area.

“Some of the caves that were surveyed revealed that there are already species inhabiting the vicinity,” she added.

There are also several threatened flora like molave (Vitexparviflora); Bantigi (Pemphis acidula), and Pitogong dagat(Cycas edentata) that can be found in three types of forests in Boracay.

“The BMB will be doing a ground validation together with the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority or NAMRIA to set the boundaries on the critical habitat as soon as the department order is signed,” Lim said.

The establishment of a critical habitat is pursuant to Republic Act No. 9147, or the Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act. ###

DENR press releases and other news/feature articles are posted at the DENR website: www.denr.gov.ph. For queries/comments, write: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.