Romblon board approves Environment Code

ROMBLON, Romblon, Philippines – The provincial board here passed last Monday a local Environment and Natural Resources Code to protect and conserve the environment and natural resources.

“We are firm with our decision that Romblon is a special province, with beautiful resources that we should not forgo because of its promised development,” Gov. Eduardo Firmalo was quoted as saying after the board’s passage of the Environment Code.

Firmalo earlier vowed to contest a local court’s decision virtually giving the go-signal for a private company to conduct large-scale mining on an island in the province.

Firmalo agreed with all the provisions of the Environment Code, saying, “As caretakers of our province, we agree (that the protection of) the environment and natural resources is one of our important roles.”

Provincial board member Felix Ylagan, principal author of the Environment Code, said the passage of the ordinance is timely to correct the errors made against the environment in the past.

“The people have spoken very clearly, let there be liberality… the legislation has far-reaching benefits which will protect us now and those of our children’s children,” Ylagan said.

Among the controversial sections of the ordinance include Section 64 which mandates that mining “shall not be allowed within one kilometer radius from a declared watershed or watershed areas as identified by the municipality concerned.”

The provision also prohibits mining in “tourism and agricultural areas as identified by the municipality concerned” as well as in areas “identified by Presidential Executive Order 79, series of 2012; and in Section 19 of Republic Act 7942, as provided shall be applicable within the purview of Section 64 of this code.”

A local environment group called the Sibuyan Islands Sentinels League for Environment (Sibuyan ISLE) said in a statement that the legislation challenges local government units to integrate climate change action and disaster risk reduction management plans in their development programs.