Cebu Vice Gov. Agnes Magpale expressed hope that other local governments throughout Cebu would imitate Oslob Mayor Jose Tumulak Jr. who announced a weeklong closure of the shores of Sumilon Island for cleanup purposes.
The island will be closed from Tuesday, April 6 to Monday, April 10 for the rehabilitation of its sandbar and snorkeling spots.
We likewise hope that local governments would work to improve the state of their coasts not only as a pro-business precaution but out of genuine respect for our environment laws.
If we Cebuanos were to be perfectly honest, we would all recognize that for a long time we have been flouting laws designed to preserve areas near our waters.
The Water Code of the Philippines states that banks and shores of rivers, streams, seas and lakes “are subject to easement of public use in the interest of recreation, navigation, flotage, fishing and salvage.”
The law further states that easement zones should span in cities 3 meters, in agricultural locales 20 meters and in forests 40 meters from the water.
Similarly, the law forbids anyone to stay in easement zones longer than necessary for purposes from recreation to salvage.
The law prohibits the building of any structure on easement zones.
Certainly, these provisions should be reconciled with details of the human right of abode, but we must open our eyes to the truth that the free for all occupation of our waterfronts was the primordial assault on them.
Imagine how swiftly Cebu’s lands and waters at Bohol Sea, Mactan Channel, Tañon Strait and the Visayan Sea could heal had their easement zones been free from polluting settlements.
Imagine the benefits in mental and physical health as well as public aesthetics and decreased leaching that could come if urban riversides are maintained as gardens or parks rather than left to fester as colonies of hovels exposed to disease and to the wrath of floods.
Mayor Tumulak’s commendable measure to keep Sumilon’s shores and dive sites livable should only be the first steps towards the stricter governance of lands by the water in Oslob, the rest of Cebu and throughout the country.
Our duty goes beyond keeping these lands clean.
We must look to keeping them clear.
Such clearing begins with a sustained cleanliness drive that culminates in a major departure from the unlawful normalcy of occupied easement zones.
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