DENR finds 49 businesses in Siargao to be non-compliant

THE Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has identified 49 out of 148 business establishments that have failed to comply with environmental law in the resort island of Siargao, Surigao del Norte.

In a statement on Tuesday, the DENR’s CARAGA region office is said it is in the process of serving notices of violation (NoVs) to the establishments after a two-month inspection ordered by Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Roy A. Cimatu.

DENR-CARAGA aims to finish serving the NoVs by end of March.

“Siargao is still one of the country’s best tourist destinations, but if we want to sustain its viability as an international surfing capital we must show that we are all helping to protect and conserve its environment,” Mr. Cimatu said in the statement.

According to DENR, the 49 establishments in Siargao, which is the largest marine protected area in the country, lack environmental compliance certificates (ECC) and have no sewage treatment facilities.

These businesses, which are restaurants and resorts, were found to have violated the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act and circumvented the system for issuing Environmental Impact Statements. Some of the establishments were also found to have been improperly disposed of solid waste.

Local governments were also found to have issued business permits without requiring an ECC.

“This should be the template by which other regions conduct their inspection and monitoring activities, We want to be fast, but follow the law at the same time,” Mr. Cimatu said.

Aside from the issuances of NoVs, the DENR is pushing for the approval of a solid waste management plan which includes the construction of a sanitary landfill on the island and the stricter implementation of sewage treatment rules.