THE Hotel, Resort and Restaurant Association of Cebu (HRRAC) and the Lapu-Lapu City Government are working closely together to make sure tourism establishments in Mactan remain compliant to environmental laws and observe proper waste disposal.
Admitting that the temporary closure of Boracay Island for six months, starting today, served as a wake-up call, HRRAC president Carlo Suarez said programs had been implemented in Lapu-Lapu City in close coordination with its local government.
He said they are working together to make sure tourism establishments, especially those located on the beach, have proper waste disposal facilities.
“HRRAC members have their treatment facilities and environmental compliance certificates (ECC) but we are working with the Lapu-Lapu City Government if ever there are some members that need our assistance,” said Suarez. “We are willing to assist them.”
Suarez clarified that Lapu-Lapu, being a highly-urbanized city, follows a three-meter easement rule instead of the 20-meter rule previously stated in reports.
Presidential Decree (PD) 1067 or the Water Code of the Philippines prohibits structures within the easement zone of a seashore, river or stream.
The zone is subject to easement of public use for creation, navigation, and fishing, among others. It follows a 20-meter distance for agricultural areas, three meters for urban areas, and 40 meters for forest areas.
Meanwhile, tourism stakeholders lauded the initiatives of tourism-dependent local government units (LGUs) to rehabilitate their tourist attractions and save them from destruction brought about by tourists.
The coastal cleanup of Sumilon Island and the cleanup of Tumalog Falls were praised by the tourism stakeholders, who said initiatives like these raised awareness on the campaign about tourism sustainability.
The initiative to implement a 522-limit per day on tourists visiting the Sumilon sandbar was likewise appreciated.
Alice Queblatin, president of Cebu Alliance of Tour Operations Specialists (Catos), said for the province to continually enjoy the high arrivals of tourists, it needed to keep its tourist attractions alive by keeping it healthy, clean and vibrant.
“We appreciate all efforts to rehabilitate and maintain the healthy state of our attractions because in the end, we will all benefit from this,” she said.
Tourism consultant and Consul Robert Lim Joseph earlier said initiatives like this send a strong signal of the country’s strong stance in attaining sustainability in tourism.
Besides Cebu and Mactan, Bohol is also working at keeping its destinations clean and healthy.
Last month, the Panglao Island Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PICCI) began helping small businesses on the island to comply with the government’s call to set up a proper waste water treatment facility.
Top officials met with MRII chairman Antonio Tompar to discuss initiatives on how they can help small players comply with environmental laws.
“We proposed to set up a shared waste treatment facility to small players who cannot afford to invest their own waste treatment facility,” said Tompar, adding that this will be done under a build-own-operate-management scheme.