THE Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) has ordered a nationwide inventory of local laws relative to environmental conservation, building construction and easement rules as the government steps up the effort to regulate ecotourism activities in the country.
DILG Officer in Charge Eduardo M. Año ordered all regional offices of the DILG to submit a report of the list and summary of provincial, city or municipal ordinances, a statement from Año’s office said.
He issued the order after Boracay Island was reopened to entry of tourists six months since it was ordered closed by President Duterte.
A statement quoted Año as saying he issued the order after Duterte told him to monitor all island resorts and beach tourism destinations in the country.
“The DILG will evaluate the status of sewage-treatment facilities, power and water supply service capacity and Zoning Ordinance and Comprehensive Land Use Plan of LGUs [local government units] that have beach tourism destinations,” Año said.
He added the regional reports shall be submitted to the DILG Beach Tourism Monitoring Team (BTMT), which was reconstituted from the former DILG Boracay Secretariat.
Año is urging all LGUs not to wait for sanctions or interventions by the national government.
“We should all learn from the Boracay experience. Let’s not wait until your beaches turn into another cesspool,” he said. “Complacency is tantamount to dereliction of duty. Local chief executives are accountable for regulating tourism businesses and enforcing critical environmental laws, rules and regulations, and local ordinances.”
“Let us not wait for nature’s boiling point to fire back to the point that restoration efforts would be very tough. Let’s not procrastinate on this matter,” Año added. “Be proactive even if no one watches over your shoulders.”
According to DILG Spokesman, Assistant Secretary Jonathan E. Malaya, the BTMT is creating a monitoring framework and tools based on the Boracay experience for the monitoring of all other beach tourism destinations and island resorts.
The Department of Tourism has already sent gentle reminders to LGUs of some major destinations, namely, El Nido in Palawan, Panglao in Bohol, Oslob in Cebu and La Union.
“While LGUs actively promote more businesses for investments and employment, they must also balance it with upholding the integrity of the environment. These are standards set in the DILG SGLG [Seal of Good Local Governance],” Malaya said.
For provincial governments, the 2018 SGLG assessment criteria require a province to at least have an organized provincial solid waste management board and an approved 10-year solid waste management plan.
City governments and municipal governments must, on the other hand, have solid waste management board organized, not operate open or controlled dump, has an approved 10-year solid waste management plan, materials-recovery facility and access to a sanitary landfill or alternative technology as final disposal.