Palawan’s San Vicente town: Next clean-up drive target

• Source: http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1036147
• Saturday, May 26, 2018

By Celeste Anna Formoso (PNA)

PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Palawan -- After the clampdown on environment law violators in the municipalities of El Nido and Coron, the regional office of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in Mimaropa (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblom and Palawan) will next bring its clean-up drive to San Vicente town in northern Palawan.

DENR Mimaropa Regional Director Natividad Bernardino said this is despite the fact that the municipal government through the leadership of Mayor Carmela Alvarez had already initiated the issuance of notices of violations to business establishments in Barangay Port Barton earlier.

“I visited San Vicente just recently, and the local government unit (LGU) issued, on its own, notices to easement violators in Port Barton. But we need to monitor the water quality in the area,” said Bernardino on establishments in the area that are dislodging liquid domestic wastes to the sea.

She said that in Long Beach, the easement zone being imposed is 50 meters, which is larger than those prescribed in El Nido and Coron towns.

San Vicente is a first-class municipality located in the northwestern side of the main island of the province and is 186 kilometers from Puerto Princesa City.

It is the first Flagship Tourism Enterprise Zone by the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority in the province that is fast becoming a favorite tourist destination due to its fair sandy beaches and scenic island spots in Port Barton, and Long Beach, said to be the longest stretch of white sand beach in the Philippines.

“We only have a little problem in Port Barton because the water quality is already low. That is my suspicion, and that is where we need to do enforcement. But Long Beach is okay, we don’t have any problem so far,” she said.

Earlier, James Inawasan, the municipal administrator of San Vicente, said Mayor Carmela Alvarez had issued an executive order to survey the easement zone compliance of business establishments.

He said it was done in the first week of May. “We’re already in Port Barton, there is already a task force called ‘Task Force Save Port Barton.’ I am the head of the task force and we will be working there to assess the easement zone compliance of the establishments for two months,” Inawasan said.

He said the activity they are doing is like an “inventory,” where establishments and also households have already been told about their violation of the five-meter easement zones.

More than 200 establishments are now being surveyed and inventoried in Port Barton for compliance, Inawasan said.

“There are also many households, some of them are near riverbanks, so we have to check everything per order by Mayor Alvarez. If necessary, they have to vacate the easement zones and timberland areas,” he added.