DENR, business groups agree on immediate construction of sewerage treatment plants in Boracay

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has entered into an agreement with major business groups in Boracay for the immediate construction of sewerage treatment plants (STPs) by resort owners and other establishments in order to address water quality problems in the world-famous resort island.

The agreement was reached during a meeting between DENR Secretary Roy A. Cimatu and officials of Boracay Foundation Inc. (BFI) and Boracay Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (BCCP) and the Filipino Chinese Chamber Federation Iloilo Chapter on Saturday, following the discovery of old drainage and septic tank, and several pipes discharging wastewater into the beach.

Both the DENR and Boracay businesses have committed to the strict implementation of Malay Municipal Ordinance No. 307 that requires establishments with 50 rooms and above to install their own STPs and allow the discharge of wastewater that pass “Class SB” standard to the existing drainage.

Class SB refers to waters that are fit for ecotourism and recreational activities, including swimming, bathing and diving.

Under the agreement, establishments with 49 rooms and below may opt to construct cluster STPs with their neighboring establishments.

The construction of STPs by resort owners and other Boracay establishments is just one of many solutions being considered for Boracay, which has been ordered closed to tourists for six months starting last April 26 to pave the way of its rehabilitation.

Cimatu reiterated that Boracay’s reopening would depend on its water quality. “Unless the water quality improved and compliant to our standard, I will not allow the reopening of Boracay,” Cimatu told representatives of Boracay business groups during the meeting.

Among those present in the meeting were BFI president Neneth Graf, BCCP’s Wesley Van Der Hoort and June Adiaton, Alfonso Tan of GT Hotel, and James Molina of Boracay Haven.

DENR-Western Visayas Director Jim Salpulna, Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) Region 6 Director Ramar Neil Pascua, and DENR Task Force Boracay ground commander Francisco Milla were also present at the meeting. 

After the meeting, Cimatu announced that the STP construction is exempted from the six-month moratorium on building constructions earlier imposed by the DENR in Boracay.

“The construction of STP is exempted from the construction moratorium effective May 19, 2018, the date when the agreement was signed,” Cimatu said.

Meanwhile, Cimatu ordered the immediate removal of sewerage pipes discovered along Boracay’s white beach. The wastewater coming from pipes contains high coliform count based on the test conducted by the EMB.

“These pipelines at the beachfront are non-negotiable. They have to be removed. The water that comes out of these is very smelly; you don’t like the smell of it and very unhealthy,” Cimatu said.

Cimatu could not hide his disappointment over the concealment by the establishments of buried pipelines.

“It’s almost a month now, but there’s not much improvement in the water quality. Very erratic ang results ng water sampling. Ngayon, mababa [ang coliform count].  The next day, mataas na naman. This is because there are pipelines buried under the sand, at the beachfront.  ‘Pag low tide, the wastewater goes into the sea, contaminates the waters.  It’s very unhealthy,” he lamented.

Earlier, Cimatu told reporters that around 33  “possible buried illegal pipes” were detected by a technical team from the Mines and Geosciences Bureau using a ground penetrating radar (GPR) along the beach front.  Of these, three sites, including an old drainage from an old creek and a septic tank, have already been excavated and found to be leading to the shoreline. 

“This septic tank should have not been here in the first place,” he said. 

Accordingly, the said drainage was already condemned but was found to have leaks, which when tested, the water contains a high concentration of coliform at 10,000 MPN/100ML.  

A nearby orange pipeline was also uncovered, with the use of GPR, despite being covered with sandbags. The water sample collected from it registered a coliform count of 74,000 MPN/100ML, non-compliant to DENR water quality standard of 400MPN/100ML. ###

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.

Cimatu hopes to prevent future Boracay-like crisis with ecotourism tracking tool

Environment Secretary Roy A. Cimatu has high hopes for the newly launched ecotourism tracking tool (ETT) that will help monitor and evaluate activities in ecotourism sites across the country to prevent another Boracay-like crisis in the future.

Cimatu said the ETT, which was developed by the Ecosystems Research and Development Bureau (ERDB) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), will help systemize the conservation and protection of ecotourism destinations prone to environmental degradation.

“I am confident the ETT will enable not just the DENR but all stakeholders to efficiently assess to which degree an ecotourism site is managed according to a set of sustainability indicators,” Cimatu said. “I have no doubt it will support proactive management of all ecotourism sites in the country.”

ERDB was earlier tasked by Cimatu to conduct a study that will determine the capacity of ecotourism sites, including the pollution-challenged Boracay Island, which has been ordered closed to tourists for six months starting last April 26.

Cimatu admitted that one of the reasons why Boracay suffered from environmental degradation was the “lack of guidelines, standards or certification mechanisms towards its effective management as an ecotourism area.”

This concern, according to ERDB Director Henry Adornado, will be addressed by the ETT manual, which was developed through an ERDB-led study from 2013 to 2014, in order to provides a quality certification system and sets parameters for the effective management of ecotourism sites.

“As ecotourism is one of the fastest growing sectors of the travel industry today, everyone wants to ride on its popularity,” Adornado pointed out.

“Some travel operators only show in their advertisements the positive image of their ecotourism-related activities, showing no or less considerations on the environmental degradation, social and cultural exploitation,” he added.

Using the eight-point ETT, resorts and other recreational and tourism operators will be monitored and evaluated in relation to their friendliness to the environment and adherence to ecotourism principles.

The parameters in evaluating ecotourism sites are policies, operations, management, sociocultural ecotourism products and services, economic benefits, financing/enterprising building, bioecological features, and facilities.

Upon consultation with DENR’s Biodiversity Management Bureau, Forest Management Bureau, Department of Tourism, Department of Science and Technology, and University of the Philippines – Los Baños, local government units, park managers, and private and community tour operators, the ERDB came out with a set of standards for ecotourism sites.

The bureau tested and validated the draft tool in selected potential ecotourism destinations in the country with two sets of respondents.

The first set of respondents include resort owners/managers, park authorities, tour operators and guides, government officials engaged in operating tourist destinations.

Concerned stakeholders affected by tourism activities, people’s organizations, non-government organizations, religious groups and the academe form the other set of respondents.

The tracking tool consisted of 62 questions, which were presented in a table format so as to record the details of the assessment.

Adornado said the ERDB recommends the ETT for use by the Department of Tourism, DENR’s Biodiversity Management Bureau, the local government units, ecotourism project implementers, private and community-based travel and tour operators.

Copies of the manual are already available at DENR-ERDB and it is also downloadable for free at the ERDB website (erdb.denr.gov.ph). 

The DENR-ERDB has also started distributing copies of the manual to various government offices, protected area managers, and local government units. #

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.

Cimatu lifts suspension on issuance of tenurial instrument for protected areas

Secretary Roy A. Cimatu has announced that the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is now ready to accept applications for special use agreement for protected areas (SAPA) as the indefinite suspension for its issuance is finally lifted.

SAPA is a tenurial instrument issued to enable productive use of a protected area (PA) as defined under Republic Act No. 7586 or the National Integrated Protected Areas System Act of 1992, while maintaining its status as a PA.

Cimatu recently issued a memorandum to all DENR regional offices informing them that the agency resumes enforcement of Department Administrative Order (DAO) No. 2007-17 or the rules and regulations governing the issuance of the tenurial instrument for PAs.

 He also informed them about his issuance of an addendum to DAO 2007-17 as contained in DAO 2018-05, which provides for the standard computation of development fees imposed on SAPA recipients.

 “Now that the suspension has been lifted, the DENR can guarantee that individuals, groups and companies can once again apply for the special use of the PAs,” Cimatu said.

            Among the objectives of SAPA include putting a premium to ecosystem services provided by PAs, such as water supply, which is becoming a limited resource; and generating revenues that can be utilized for improved management and operations of the PAs, thereby reducing required national subsidy.

DAO 2007-17 provides “access and economic opportunities to indigenous peoples, tenured migrant communities, and other PA stakeholders to contribute to the reduction of poverty.”

 It also seeks to optimize the special uses of PAs consistent with the principles of sustainable development and biodiversity conservation in cooperation with the stakeholders, as well as to guide the development of the appropriate zones for PAs.

 “SAPA also serves as a regulatory tool for increased resource use beyond carrying capacity and increasing local economic opportunities, such as increased local employment from ecotourism establishments,” Cimatu said.

Sometime in 2011, the issuance of SAPAs has been indefinitely suspended by the DENR due to the absence of standard rate of development fee imposed on SAPA applicants. 

DAO 2018-05, with the addendum on the rules and regulations for the special uses in PAs, provides a standard for computation for the development fee.

 Biodiversity Management Bureau Director Crisanta Marlene Rodriguez said that under the addendum, development fees will now be imposed based on the fixed percentage of the zonal value of the land and improvements thereon.

According to her, the fees will be equivalent to five percent of the most recent zonal value of the commercial zone in the nearest municipality where the project is located multiplied by the area to be developed multiplied by the area to be developed plus one percent of the value of improvement as premium to the PA.

            The annual SAPA fee, she said, shall be paid upon the issuance of the permit, and annually thereafter within 30 days from the date of issuance. “Failure to pay within the prescribed period shall be subject to surcharges of 8.33 percent monthly for the late payment or 100 percent for one year,” she said.

            Aside from the SAPA fee, the DENR will also be collecting an administrative fee worth P5,000 from the proponent for every SAPA application filed, to cover the cost of examining, assessing, and processing the requirements submitted, and will then be deposited to the Integrated Protected Area Fund. ###

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.