ENVIRONMENT Secretary Roy Cimatu on Monday said they have already mobilized their resources to address the environmental problems besetting the world-famous Boracay Island to comply with the six-month deadline set by President Rodrigo Duterte.
He said he will bring in all bureaus and attached agencies of the Department of Environment and Natural Resourcers, including the Environmental Management Bureau and the Forest Management Bureau, in fixing Boracay’s serious garbage and wastewater woes.
During yesterday’s flag-raising ceremony at the agency’s central office in Quezon City, Cimatu said he would count on the support and cooperation of all officials and employees to meet the deadline.
“This is a challenge again for the department. I will be asking you to cooperate and support our efforts to implement this directive,” he said.
“All concerned agencies and stakeholders will be mobilized to join in the effort to rehabilitate Boracay Island,” he added.
The President threatened to close down Boracay if environmental issues remained unaddressed in six months’ time.
According to Cimatu, plans will be laid out to avert a Boracay shutdown.
Cimatu’s spokesperson, DENR Undersecretary for Policy, Planning and International Relations Jonas Leones said the environment chief has been closely monitoring the environmental issues in Boracay even before the President’s directive came out.
“From the start of his term, Secretary Cimatu’s priorities have already included Boracay Island. He has been in the island a number of times,” he said.
Cimatu earlier ordered the local government of Malay, Aklan to stop the dumping of residual waste at the materials recovery facility in Barangay Manoc-Manoc amid complaints of foul odor from the residents.
Leones said the DENR, the Department of theInterior and Local Government and the Department of Tourism will meet today “to finalize our actions and strategies to make sure that we comply with the directive of the President.”
“With regard to the Clean Water Act, those establishments found directly discharging their untreated waste water into the water body will be penalized, issued cease-and-desist orders or closed,” he added.