Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Roy A. Cimatu has reiterated the importance of the dolomite beach in the Manila Bay Rehabilitation Program, noting how the beach enhancement project can positively shape the mindset of the public on proper solid waste management. In his keynote speech during the launch of the DENR’s Solid Waste Management Advocacy Campaign on Oct. 15, Cimatu said he envisions the full restoration of the historic bay as a way to inspire Filipinos’ behavioral change towards the environment. By making Manila Bay more attractive and clean, the DENR chief said the public will be inspired to practice proper solid waste management and shun environmentally-destructive habits. “Why did we beautify the Baywalk when we can have just settled with its old appearance? You see, our intention is to dramatically change it so that when you enter there, your mindset and attitude will improve,” Cimatu said a day before the dolomite beach at Manila Bay was reopened to the public on Oct. 16. “This is really our intention for doing this, for us not to go back to the old, dirty Manila Bay,” he stressed. Cimatu, who is chair of the Manila Bay Task Force which launched the “Battle for Manila Bay” in 2019, underscored the importance of instilling behavioral change among Filipinos as he pointed out that solid waste management remains “one of the biggest challenges” faced by the DENR. In line with this, the DENR under Cimatu’s leadership had launched the Solid Waste Management Advocacy Campaign, a youth-focused advocacy drive that aims to spur behavioral change towards the environment and mobilize the citizenry on the proper handling and disposal of solid waste. Cimatu also enjoined Filipino families to be DENR’s partners in this and other similar efforts and programs. He said that good practices instilled by parents on their children can positively contribute to the care and restoration of the country’s environment and natural resources. The DENR, together with its “estero rangers” and government and non-government partners, likewise continue to implement the Manila Bay rehabilitation program through various cleanup activities in the historic bay and its connecting waterways. Once the rehabilitation project is done, Cimatu expressed confidence that the Filipino youth will someday be proud of the Manila Bay and the culture change that, hopefully, he said, they will inherit. “When the next generation witnesses this, they will say — ‘This is beautiful. Mabuti nalang nagawa ito noon.’ I know that the next generation will say that,” Cimatu said. He added: “When they grow up, they wouldn’t think our country is a third world country because they’ll see this as very orderly, clean, and beautiful. This is really intended for the next generation.” ###

Posted on October 23, 2021

To fulfill its mandate to reverse the degradation of the world-famous island in Aklan, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is determined to finish the work of the Boracay Inter-Agency Task Force (BIATF) before its term ends in June 2022.

DENR Secretary and BIATF chair Roy A. Cimatu said the term extension given to the task force should be enough to tie up all the loose ends of the island’s rehabilitation.

“As we all know, the 2022 polls is just around the corner, thus, we must ensure that we have the proper mechanisms in place so that our hard work and efforts would not turn to naught,” Cimatu said during the BIATF meeting in Boracay Island on Friday, Oct. 22.

“We hope that what we leave behind for Boracay would be those that are worthy to be sustained or built upon by those succeeding us,” he added.

The task force, co-chaired by the Department of Tourism and the Department of the Interior and Local Government, was created on May 8, 2018, under Executive Order (EO) No. 53.

During the meeting with BIATF officials, Cimatu reported that water quality in the beaches of Boracay has significantly improved since the rehabilitation of the island destination started in 2018.

Water samples in 2018 showed that fecal coliform level was at 900 most probable number per 100 milliliters (MPN/100 ml).

Cimatu said that fecal coliform levels from 21 stations are now down to 45 MPN/100 ml on average.

Boracay Inter-Agency Rehabilitation and Management Group (BIARMG) General Manager Natividad Bernardino said the June 2022 target is a “realistic goal for its total completion,” citing that the 25+5 beach easement is now 83 percent complete.

Bernardino added that 282 of the 339 structures including commercial, residential, and other establishments encroaching on the 25+5-meter beach easement have been demolished. Only a few remaining houses are left for demolition.

The 34 affected fisherfolk residents were given cash assistance amounting to close to Php 1 million by the municipal government of Malay, provincial government of Aklan and the Department of Social Welfare and Development

“We have to do it. Hindi pwedeng hindi. Gawin natin,” Cimatu said, referring to the removal of illegally-built structures on the island.

After the meeting, Cimatu conducted beach forest tree-planting of around 50 agojo seedlings commonly known as native pine trees along the White Beach at Station 3.

“We are doing this as a nature-based solution to address the issue that the 25+5 easement has shrunk a bit because of soil erosion,” Cimatu explained. “I am glad that other beach resorts have also committed to participate by planting Agojo and other appropriate tree species.”

The whole stretch of the white beach is targeted to be included in the tree-planting activity.

Among the lost wetlands, Wetland No. 9 is almost cleared of illegal settlers except for one remaining house.

Wetland No. 6, adopted by Boracay Tubi System Inc. and which has been previously cleared, will be fenced to prevent possible encroachment.

For the enforcement of the 12-meter road right of way for the widening and improvement of the Boracay Circumferential Road, 86 percent of establishments or 1,057 of 1,230 total structures that have been demolished are now compliant with the 12-meter road easement.

These consist of commercial, residential, and a combination of both and institutional establishments.

By the second quarter of 2022, the task force is targeting 94 percent compliance or an additional 142 establishments demolished.

The demolition of the remaining structures is expected by the end of 2020 when Phase 4 of the road improvement project would have been completed.

For her part, Department of Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said the COVID-19 vaccination of the island’s residents and tourism workers is expected to reach 100 percent by the end of October 2021 with the arrival of 35,100 doses of Pfizer vaccine on Oct. 21.

Almost 92 percent of the tourism workers including tricycle drivers, souvenir shop personnel, and massage therapists have received their first dose or 11,779 of 12,809 workers while 77.87 percent or 19,039 of 24,451 residents have received their first dose. ###