FIFTEEN or about 76 percent of the 21 tourism-based establishments inspected in Oslob town have no sanitary permits, an official of the Cebu Provincial Tourism (PTO) Office said yesterday.
This is based on a random sampling survey conducted by the PTO on 21 out of 80 establishments in Oslob in September last year, said Provincial Tourism Officer Joselito “Boboi” Costas.
Costas said they conducted the survey and inspection five months before President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the temporary closure of Boracay Island.
The results also came five months before the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Department of Tourism (DOT) called Oslob’s attention over the presence of illegal structures on their shoreline and lack of wastewater discharge permits for some of their small beach resorts.
Costas told reporters that aside from the lack of sanitary permits, one beach resort in the southern Cebu town has no proper wastewater discharge facility, which means that they discharge their wastewater to the sea.
The inspection of resorts and pension houses was done with Oslob’s tourism officer and sanitary inspector.
“We were not surprised when the news came because before the report, we already called their attention because of the same problems,” Costas said.
During their inspection, they found that some establishments placed septic tanks and wastewater discharge receptacles adjacent to the sea.
When they asked the establishment owners about their violations, most of them said they failed to secure sanitary permits because they don’t have the time to apply for one.
Costas said that when they released the results of their survey, they recommended that the town strictly require tourism-based establishments not only to secure the documentary requirements but also to ensure that their surroundings are clean.
“The ball is already in their court. It’s up to them if they will implement our recommendations or not,” Costas added.
SunStar Cebu tried to reach Oslob Mayor Jose Tumulak Jr. for comment yesterday but calls to his cellular phone were not answered.
Last Thursday, Presidential Assistant for the Visayas Michael Dino and representatives of DENR and DOT were in Oslob to meet with local officials to discuss the environmental problems in the resort town.
Tumulak committed that they will clean up Oslob’s shores immediately.
The mayor said he wants to avoid what happened to Boracay Island, which the President shut down for six months so it can be rehabilitated. (JKV)