THE question that some sectors might have asked regarding efforts in Cebu to heed the lessons of Boracay is, why only Oslob?
After the Oslob local government unit initiated a cleanup of the sandbar and dive sites in Sumilon Island, it will now have to deal with the finding by the Regional Foreshore Area Task Force (RFATF) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) 7 on violations by some resorts in the area of their wastewater discharge permits and the 20-meter easement zone rule.
The focus on Oslob is such that Presidential Assistant for the Visayas Michael Dino visited the town to help it deal with the RTFAF findings.
It may not only be because, of all the places in Cebu, Oslob’s rise as a tourism destination mainly due to the popularity of the whale shark watching tours has been steep. It should also be because the local government unit, led by Mayor Jose Tumulak Jr., has been open to suggestions and cooperating with concerned government officials in managing its tourism activities.
But focusing too much on Oslob may not work in the long run. The cleanup drive in Sumilon and in Tumalog Falls has not been replicated in other major tourism areas of the province. Violations of the 20-meter easement zone along the Cebu coastline and the lack of proper wastewater disposal are features that are not specific to Oslob.
The construction of illegal structures along the coast is not a recent development. It was a big issue in the 1990s during the term of then governor Vicente de la Serna, who focused on Mactan Island where violations by resorts were rampant. Nothing much came out of it because despite meetings with resort owners to find a solution to the problem, those illegal structures have remained.
Oslob is newer in the tourism game than Mactan and Bantayan Islands, so it can be more malleable than the older tourism destinations. The other new player is San Francisco town in the Camotes group of islands. It’s good to nip the violations in the bud.
But fairness dictates that authorities have to widen the scope of their attention. There are many other areas in Cebu whose tourism industry is worth saving.