ENVIRONMENT Secretary Roy Cimatu on Sunday issued a call to end impunity for crimes against environment.
In a State of the Environment Address read by Undersecretary and Chief of Staff Rodolfo Garcia during the national celebration of Earth Day in Manila, Cimatu urged Filipinos not to tolerate environmental abuse and help fill the gap in the enforcement of laws on environmental protection.
“We must cease being tolerant of environmental abuse, and take active part in the strict enforcement of environmental laws, rules, regulations and ordinances,” Cimatu said.
The government needs the direct participation of the citizenry in accelerating reforestation, coastal cleanups, conserving energy and popularizing lifestyles that would enable the country reduce its carbon footprint and enhance its resilience, he added.
Environmental abuse persists because there are people who allow, if not encourage, “irresponsibility to proceed with impunity,” Cimatu said.
He cited as a classic example the case of Aklan’s Boracay Island, which was ordered closed down temporarily to allow authorities to fix the environmental problems that have gone unnoticed and unresolved until they exploded into a major crisis.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque also linked Earth Day to Boracay.
“This year’s observance of Earth Day in the Philippines has stricken a resonant chord with the government’s resolve to clean and restore Boracay Island to its previous stature as one of the most beautiful and pristine beaches of the world,” Roque said in a statement.
“This is a good wake-up call to everyone that we must not sacrifice the future ecological sustainability on the altar of economic growth and development,” he added.
Senator Panfilo Lacson, meanwhile, said the Senate investigation into the Boracay mess should include reported extortion by the island’s barangay officials, which could be used in the coming barangay and youth elections.
He noted that the extorted money from businessmen in exchange for the IDs to none-residents could be used to bankroll the electjon campaign of local village officials.
“They’re asking P400,000 to be issued IDs to employees,” Lacson said in an interview over radio DZBB.
The issuance of IDs, he said, was directed by the DILG. Starting April 26, only workers and residents with IDs would be allowed to enter the island.
The IDs cost only P100 for renewal and P200 for new applicants
Meanwhile, Senators Cynthia A. Villar and Loren Legarda warned of the further deterioration in the country’s wildlife and marine resources because of plastic waste.
Villar, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, said the use of plastic products over the years has taken its grim toll on the country’s natural resources.
“Our marine waters are choking from plastic wastes that have been dumped into our waters,” said Villar, adding that the Philippines ranked third next to China and Indonesia in terms of estimated volume of mismanaged plastic wastes produced by the population that could potentially enter the seas and oceans.
She acknowledged that ‘the campaign against plastic consumption has been moving slowly because both manufacturers and users continue to be unmindful of the environmental, climate and health impacts of plastic use.’
Villar issued the remarks during the celebration of Earth Day 2018 and the 11th Anniversary of the establishment of the 175-hectare Las Pinas-Parañaque Wetland Park as the last coastal frontier of the Asean region. The twin celebrations were held at the Las-Pinas Paranaque Wetland Park.