SOME establishment owners are worried about the proposed P100 environmental fee for tourists being pushed in the Lapu-Lapu City Council, citing its possible negative impact on smaller hotels and local tourism industry.
Should the council pass the measure and City implement it, various groups may be prompted to take legal action.
These were among the concerns raised during the public hearing conducted on Friday, Aug. 4, 2023, for the legislation authored by City Councilor Annabeth Cuizon to charge tourists with a “green tax.”
Some of the attendees expressed reservation, saying the fee may put “smaller, cheaper hotels directly out of business.”
They said the fee is “unfairly targeting” tourists, considering that it is the responsibility of the City, its residents, and existing businesses to protect and be responsible for the environment, adding that tourists are the least polluting compared to those unlicensed businesses, malls, among others.
They said they see the proposed ordinance as “unconstitutional on several grounds” and “will ultimately harm the entire tourism industry of Cebu.”
Mayor Junard “Ahong” Chan said a portion of the fee collected could be used to build new roads with drainage systems and widen tourism roads.
City Councilor Joseph Pangatungan said the money raised could also be utilized to pay for the upkeep of tourism attractions.
Cuizon said the fee is required to address current environmental issues, which include illegal fishing, the presence of fecal coliforms in some of the beaches, garbage along tourist routes, coral protection, and the absence of street lights in tourist routes, among other things.
Some attendees cited the incident in Boracay where around P1 billion worth of environmental fees allegedly disappeared.
According to news reports in 2018, the Department of the Interior and Local Government conducted an investigation on what happened to the P1 billion the local government unit collected as environmental fee for the past decade.
Cuizon acknowledged that there are still questions that need to be addressed before the ordinance can be implemented.
She said the council will give stakeholders until Aug. 11 to draft their position papers for consideration.
“We will examine and take into account all of their proposals, see which are beneficial to them, and make sure that this would not have an impact on the hotel business,” she said.