The Department of Environment and Natural Resources on Sunday stood firm on its decision to require establishments in Aklan’s Boracay Island to put up sewerage treatment plants either individually or in clusters to ensure that all waste water would undergo appropriate treatment prior to their discharge into the sea.
“The President described Boracay as a ‘cesspool.’ By that word alone, he meant that the waters around the island is of very poor quality,” DENR Secretary Roy Cimatu said.
“And, indeed, it was. The concentration of e-coliform in the water samples that were put to test in the early part of our rehabilitation efforts were too high—millions of times beyond the standard,” he added.
Cimatu acknowledged the initiative of the local government in coming up with an ordinance requiring sewerage treatment plants before, but said such measure had not been faithfully enforced.
“This time, the Boracay inter-agency task force will make sure that the sewerage treatment plant requirement shall be enforced fully,” he said.
“The President’s order has always been to give premium to the environment rather than to economic gains. Therefore, the sewerage treatment plant is non-negotiable. It is one of the primary requirements for the opening of Boracay,” he added.
He said there are government financial institutions, such as the Development Bank of the Philippines and Land Bank of the Philippines, willing to assist in financing the sewerage treatment plants amid concerns from stakeholders that these would be “expensive.”
Earlier, Malacañang asked the Supreme Court to dismiss a petition questioning the six-month closure of the world-famous Boracay Island resort.
In a 61-page comment, Malacañang, through the Office of the Solicitor General, sought the dismissal of the petition filed by three residents of Boracay seeking to nullify President Rodrigo Duterte’s Proclamation 475 that closed the resort to tourists and non-residents from April 26 to Oct. 25.
Solicitor General Jose Calida justified the legality of Boracay’s closure, saying it did not violate any provision of the 1987″‹ Constitution.
Instead, the chief state lawyer sought the dismissal of the petition in April and a supplemental petition in June filed by Mark Anthony Zabal, Thiting Estoso Jacosalem and Odeon Bandiola for lack of merit.
He disputed the petitioners’ assertion that the Executive had no power to close down Boracay.
He said Duterte issued the closure order in the exercise of his power as chief executive under Sections 1 and 17, Article VII of the Constitution and declared Boracay under a state of calamity on the recommendation by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.
“In this case, the situation in Boracay Island called for a strong and urgent measure to address the human-induced hazards that have caused the degradation of Boracay Island’s eco-system,” Calida said.
For his part, Labor Undersecretary Joel Maglunsod said the more than 21,000 displaced workers of Boracay could claim their six-month compensation to the nearest Labor Department regional office amounting to P4,205 a month.
Only about 20 percent of the more than 21,000 displaced workers have claimed the assistance and livelihood program of the government, including the P4,000 in financial assistance to be given to affected workers regardless of status.
