NEW BOHOL INT’L AIRPORT OPENS
With more tourists expected to visit Bohol with the opening of the new Bohol International Airport in Panglao Island, the local government units (LGUs) there are advised to be ready to implement measures to protect the environment.
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources in Central Visayas (DENR-7) is calling particularly on Panglao town’s LGU to coordinate with them with regard to implementing these measures.
DENR-7 Regional Director Gilbert Gonzales said that the agency would want to determine the carrying capacity of the island as a way to protect Panglao Island’s natural resources.
“Actually as it progresses, we really have to do that. For sure, the environment has its own limitation,” Gonzales said in an interview on Thursday.
Gonzales said that with the construction of the new airport, they were already anticipating an increase in the number of tourists in the coming months.
“So I think the LGU (Local Government Unit) and other sectors should be ready,” he added.
Carrying capacity
With regard to the carrying capacity, according to the DENR-7 in an earlier report that they would need a request from the LGU to conduct the study to determine the carrying capacity of an area since it would a require a budget.
Gonzales also encouraged the Panglao town government to improve the town’s drainage system, sewerage and to efficiently manage the town’s garbage.
Easement rule issues
He also said that the easement rule had remained an issue to different establishments in the island.
“Easement is one of the issues when it comes to beach areas, so there is a prescription of a 20-meter easement,” he said.
“There were establishments that built structures within the easement. Some are semi-permanent, some are temporary, and some are really permanent structures, which should not be built in those areas” he added.
Gonzales also said that they already had an inventory on these establishments so that they could address the issue.
He also noted the support of the Panglao mayor on the DENR-7’s enforcement of the easement rule and the mayor warned those erring establishments that their encroaching structures would be demolished and that their local permits would not be renewed.
“We are also considering on imposing sanctions and even suspending or cancelling the ECC (Environment Compliance Certificate) if they will not comply,” Gonzlaes said.
Sewage monitoring
He said the DENR-7 would also monitor establishments in maintaining and managing their sewage plant and discharges so that the quality of seawater of the island would be maintained.
The agency is also proposing to the LGU to put up a septage management facility for the household and small and medium scale establishments to address the issue on waste discharges and disposal.