ONE hundred cases involving resorts on Boracay Island accused of assorted environmental violations are currently being heard by the Pollution Adjudication Board (PAB).
This was disclosed by Environment Undersecretary for Attached Agencies Sherwin T. Rigor in an interview with the BusinessMirror. “There are 100 resorts and companies pending litigation with the PAB,” he said. Among the resorts with cases pending with the PAB are the Henann Group, which has six resorts; Kingfisher Farm; and Seven Seas Hotel, among others.
If found guilty, these resorts could be leveled “millions of pesos in penalties, as well as closure,” he said. The PAB is a quasi-judicial body created under Section 19 of the Executive Order No. 192 (series of 1987), which reorganized the DENR. It is chaired by the DENR secretary, and adjudicates reported violations of Presidential Decree 1586 (Philippine Environmental Impact Statement System of 1978), Republic Act 6969 (Toxic Substances, Hazardous and Nuclear Wastes Control Act of 1990), RA 8749 (Philippine Clean Air Act of 1999), RA 9003 (Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000), and RA 9275 (Philippine Clean Water Act of 2004).
When the PAB comes out with its resolutions on these resorts, Rigor said, “We will file criminal cases against them” in the regular courts. Aside from the DENR, the National Bureau of Investigation and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) are also expected to file cases against these companies, he said.
This developed even as the Henann Resorts Group was said to be finally complying with the Boracay Interagency Task Force (BIATF) requirements to enable it to reopen its six resorts.
“Henann has already taken steps to comply with our requirements. We are just waiting for its other hotels to comply,” Rigor acknowledged. The company’s resorts on Boracay are: Henann Regency Resort & Spa, Henann Lagoon, Henann Garden, Henann Prime Beach, Henann Crystal Sands and Henann Palm Beach, mostly beachfront properties.
According to Mike Santos, general manager of Boracay Island Water Corp., the central water supplier and sewerage system on the island, they have already built sewerage treatment plants (STPs) for all of Henann properties. “They are just waiting for the go signal from the DENR for them to operate,” he said.
For his part, Rigor said the STPs still have to undergo “pretesting, if they connected these correctly, plus the operation and discharge, before they are issued a compliance [certificate].” After the STPs are completed, “they have to be inspected and undergo three separate tests—an effluence test, discharge test, and the operation itself,” he stressed.
After the resorts comply with DENR and DILG requirements, they still have to apply for accreditation with the Department of Tourism (DOT). Rigor said Henann “can be allowed to operate while its case is still being heard by the PAB.”
Foundation head quits
Meanwhile, Henry O. Chusuey, owner and founder of the Hennan Group, tendered his resignation on November 18 as chairman of the Boracay Foundation Inc. (BFI), one of two pioneering stakeholder groups on the island.
A copy of BFI’s letter to its members attributed Chusuey’s resignation to “his many travels abroad.” As such “he may not effectively perform his duties.” Temporarily taking over as chairman is Leonard Tirol, owner of White House Resort, and a scion of the family identified as among the original landowners on the island. BFI will elect its new officers in July 2019.
Separate sources in BFI said Chusuey did not submit any resignation letter “but he talked to us, the Board, that he resigned.” On Tirol’s personal Facebook page, he said Chusuey resigned due to “pressure and frustration. He didn’t want the Foundation involved.”
Another source confirmed this, adding, Chusuey “wanted to spare the BFI [from embarrassment],” referring to the fact that his resorts continued to be closed and in violation of several BIATF regulations, even as many of its members had already complied with government requirements.
Meanwhile, Tourism Secretary Bernadette Fatima Romulo Puyat said the company has already been refunding guests who booked at their resorts.
The DOT ordered the refunds after it found Henann soliciting and accepting bookings/payments from clients even before the island was reopened on October 26. Romulo Puyat herself had received complaints from the booked guests about Henann. “I’m now getting messages that they have already been refunded,” she said.