Boracay woes
Legarda blames DENR, LGUs for failing to protect marine resources
SENATOR Loren Legarda criticized officials of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) on Monday, June 4, for failing to enforce laws that ensure the protection of marine resources in the country.
Legarda, who chairs the Senate committee on climate change, challenged DENR and other concerned agencies to strictly implement laws and show their commitment to the environment, especially in the protection of marine resources.
In her speech during the 4th Asia-Pacific Coral Reef Symposium in Cebu City on Monday, Legarda said the degradation of marine resources remains rampant because the DENR and local government units (LGUs) failed to implement environmental laws such as Republic Act 9003, or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2001, and RA 9275, the Clean Water Act. Legarda was an author of both laws.
She said that RA 9003 was passed in 2001, yet only 25 percent of the LGUs nationwide are implementing the law.
The law, which penalizes illegal dumping of waste, could have prevented the closure of Boracay Island, Legarda said.
“If everyone does its part to follow the law, then we can minimize waste by 80 percent. If we are responsible enough, any kind of waste should not be disposed of indiscriminately,” Legarda said.
She criticized DENR, along with the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources and the Climate Change Commission for failing to strictly implement these laws.
In an interview, Legarda said that she was only stating facts.
“We have the laws but it is difficult and frustrating to discipline people littering in the seas,” Legarda said.
She urged concerned agencies to implement those laws with passion and discipline.
For her part, DENR Biodiversity Management Bureau Director Crisanta Marlene Rodriguez said she understands Legarda’s point.
She said there is a lot to improve, particularly in her bureau.
Rodriguez said that while they have good laws, they have a problem with the enforcement.
She said they plan to tap other agencies to help them strengthen their enforcement and penalize violators.