IT will be a one-strike policy at the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), when it deals with hotels and other establishments located along Manila Bay found violating environmental rules.
This developed as DENR Undersecretary for Attached Agencies Sherwin Rigor said even residential condominiums are in the agency’s target sight for inspections. He told the BusinessMirror these condos will “definitely” be closed down, “no exemption,” if found polluting Manila Bay. The agency is slated to inspect 500 condos along the bay area.
“Condos need to [install] their septic vault or tank fast or use biotech. While being constructed, technology is available for that. They should not wait for us to discover they don’t have any of those equipment,” he stressed.
“We believe condo owners will understand because if they cannot pressure the owner, then their property will decrease in value,” the DENR official said, adding, “it will also hit their brand because the buyers were shortchanged.”
Among the major condominium developers in the bay area are SM Development Corp., Robinsons Residences, Federal Land and DMCI Homes, to name a few.
Meanwhile, Rigor said the agency will start inspecting some 2,000 hotels along the bay area and Roxas Boulevard starting January 27. “After we inspect them, we will give them the chance to refute our findings. If they really are not at fault, then they will be exempted [from penalties], and announced as examples that other hotels should emulate.”
However, “if found to be discharging wastewater without proper treatment, then we will be filing them penalties from the PAB [Pollution Adjudication Board],” he emphasized. “So based on the date of operation or the date we found the discharge, penalties can range from P1,000 to almost P200,000 per day depending on the size of the business. So we will close them down.”
As what happened in Boracay, once closed down, these hotels will have to reapply for permits again with the DENR and Department of the Interior and the Local Government, and accreditation with the Department of Tourism (DOT).
President Duterte recently warned hotels in the bay area to install wastewater-treatment facilities, “or else I will close you.” He also said he didn’t care if the Philippines loses its tourists, accusing the hotels of dumping their guests’ excrement straight into the Bay.
No STP, no permit
Tourism stakeholders point out, however, that hotels will not be given permits to operate by local government units if they don’t build sewerage-treatment plants on-site. “It is a requirement of city hall, so we should have these [STPs] before they release our permits,” said one hotelier, who requested anonymity.
For its part, the DOT expressed support for the initiative to clean up and rehabilitate Manila Bay. In a news statement, the agency headed by Secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat, said: “We recognize that such efforts are for the best interest of the tourism industry and are in line with the thrust of the DOT to create a culture of sustainable tourism.
“Together with the interagency task force that has transformed Boracay into a model of sustainability, consultations and dialogues will be pursued, to ensure accredited tourism establishments in all parts of the country will conform with the highest standard of environmental conservation.”
Under the National Tourism Development Plan of 2016-2022, the DOT aims to attract some 8.2 million foreign visitor arrivals to the Philippines and generate P564 billion in inbound tourism revenue this year.
Rigor said the DENR will be meeting with tourism accommodations, malls and other establishments and stakeholders in the bay area next week to inform them of the agency’s rehabilitation plan and hear out their concerns.
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