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Severe penalties, fines face 186 Boracay businesses not connected to sewer lines
An almost-empty beachfront lies on the country’s most famous beach resort island of Boracay, a day before the government implements its temporary closure on Wednesday. President Duterte had described the waters off Boracay as a “cesspool” before ordering the closure. AP/Aaron Favila
A
By Jonathan L. Mayuga
total of 186 business establishments with no proper connection to sewer lines on Boracay Island face severe penalty and fine for violation of Republic Act (RA) 9275, or the Clean Water Act of 2004. Resort-to-resort inspections conducted by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) on Boracay revealed the massive violation of environmental laws. These establishments were found to have undertaken construction and operated without the benefit of an environmental compliance certificate (ECC). They were also found to have violated the Clean Water Act and RA 8749, or the Clean Air Act. The world-famous Boracay, an island in Malay, Aklan, was ordered closed to tourism activities for six months starting on April
26 to fast-track the rehabilitation effort and allow its degraded environment to recuperate, according to Task Force Boracay (TFB). The list (See A2), a copy of which was obtained by the BusinessMirror, includes big and small tourism establishments such as hotels, resorts, restaurants and resto-bars. A total of 163 of the business establishments on the list were tagged as “not connected without discharge permit,” a double violation. Connection to proper sewer lines is mandated under the law and discharge permits are issued
Workers who lost their jobs and businesses after the closure of Boracay walk around a street to clean and collect garbage to earn P323 ($6) a day as part of the government’s assistance program at the country’s most famous beach resort on Friday. AP/Aaron Favila
PESO exchange rates n US 52.2310
A man walks beside a drainage pipe that discharges its untreated sewage into the waters along the beachfront of Boracay, as the government implements its temporary closure on Thursday. AP/Aaron Favila
by the DENR through its Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) upon the assessment of the wastewater to be discharged in a particular area and its potential impact to the environment. Of the 186, 23 violators were tagged “not connected with expired discharge permit.” The remaining five are not connected but with valid discharge permits. Under the Clean Water Act, acts prohibited include discharging or depositing any water pollutant to the water body, or such which will impede natural flow in water body; discharging, injecting or allowing to enter into the soil, anything that would pollute groundwater; operating facilities that discharge regulated water pollutants without the valid required permits; disposal of potentially infectious medical waste into sea by vessels; unauthorized trans-
port or dumping into waters of sewage sludge or solid waste; and transport, dumping or discharge of prohibited chemicals, substances or pollutants listed under the Toxic Substances and Hazardous and Nuclear Waste Control Act. Discharging of regulated water pollutants without valid discharge permits is also a violation of the Clean Water Act. The Pollution Adjudication Board (PAB) determines the fine to be imposed against the violators. A violator may be fined an amount ranging from P10,000 to P200,000 for every day of violation for discharging untreated wastewater into any water body, according to the implementing rules and regulation of RA 9275. The severity of the fine is relative to the gravity of the offense. On the other hand, failure to undertaken cleanup operations will-
fully shall be punished by imprisonment of not less than two years, and not more than four years. This includes a fine ranging from P50,000 to P100,000 per day of violation. “Failure or refusal to clean up, which results in serious injury or loss of life or lead to irreversible water contamination of surface, ground, coastal and marine water, shall be punished with imprisonment of not less than six years and one day and not more than 12 years and a fine of P500,000 for each day the contamination or omission continues,” the law’s implementing rules and regulation further stated. In cases of gross violation, a fine of not less than P500,000 but not more than P3,000,000 will be imposed for each day of violation. Criminal charges may also be filed. DENR Undersecretary Jonas R. Leones, the designated spokesman of Environment Secretary Roy A. Ci-
matu, earlier said there will be no sacred cows in the Boracay campaign. Leones added the members of Task Force Boracay, which is composed of the DENR, the departments of the Interior and Local Government and of Tourism, are determined to accomplish President Duterte’s mandate to address the various environmental problems besetting Boracay. On April 25, a day before the start of Boracay’s closure to tourists, Cimatu, who also heads Task Force Boracay, warned defiant owners of shutting down their business establishment for illegally connecting their sewer lines to the island’s rainwater drainage system that goes directly to the sea. Cimatu was dismayed that many establishments fail to institute corrective measures by connecting to the sewer lines of water concessionaires Boracay Island Water Co. and Boracay Tubi Systems Inc., as early as February. In a statement, Cimatu said Boracay establishments that are discharging their untreated wastewater directly to the sea or illegally connecting to the drainage system contribute greatly to the water pollution that triggered the government to close down the worldfamous resort island. “This has become a systemic problem. You are capitalizing on the beauty of the beach, but you are polluting it,” he said. The DENR has prepared several lists of violators for various violations. The BusinessMirror earlier obtained a list of 679 commercial, mixed commercial-residential and residential establishments that violated the 12-meter road-easement rule. There is also a separate list for violations of other environmental laws, and a list of those that illegally encroached on forestlands, wetlands and beach areas.
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Source: BSP (April 27, 2018 )