Owners of Boracay establishments rush to secure ECCs

BORACAY, Aklan — Most of the 160 establishments here facing closure by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) for alleged violations of environmental laws have started to reapply for permits.

According to Zoilo Andin, the action officer of the DENR based in the island resort, some of the business establishments located here have "panicked" over prospects of being closed permanently by the DENR and have started to heed the call to be environment-friendly.

Because of their efforts, Andin said the scheduled closure of the erring firms had been postponed.

The erring business establishments include resorts, hotels, bars and restaurants that had been ordered closed by the DENR for violating environmental regulations over their water and sewage treatment systems.

The DENR was supposed to close down a total of 160 erring establishments since last month but its owners had appealed for an extension, Andin said.

"We have issued notices of violation against the 160 establishments since early this year. And they have been continuously rejecting our call," Andin said. 

"But we have to enforce the law to protect the environment and ensure the sustainability of Boracay," he said.

The closure operations were supposed to start today but the 160 establishments managed to beat the deadline by rushing to the DENR and to the Philippine Tourism Authority (PTA) to apply for Environmental Compliance Clearances (ECCs) for their water and sewage disposal system facilities, Andin said.

"We are happy with that, that finally they are willing to comply with the environmental regulations," Andin said.

"For now, we will not be closing down or punishing the establishments pending the resolution or approval of their applications for ECC and connection."

Andin, however, warned the DENR would continue to monitor the firms, raising the possibility of enforcing the closure order in the future.

Andin added the Boracay local government had recently issued a reminder to all firms to comply with environmental laws or face revocation of their business permits.

Of the over 500 commercial and residential structures in Boracay, around 390 or 77.67 percent have already connected to the water and sewage treatment facility, the DENR said.

Around 75 percent of the 300 commercial establishments and 81 percent of the almost 200 residential establishments have already conformed with the Malay municipal ordinance.