LAPU-LAPU CITY EXEC PUSHES FOR COLLECTION OF ENVIRONMENTAL FEE
CITY—Residents and visitors of Lapu-Lapu City may need to pay an environmental fee of P100 each if they want to spend their vacation or avail of the accommodation services in hotels and resorts in the city on Mactan Island in Cebu province that is known for its pristine beaches and historical sites.
City Councilor Annabeth Cuizon, the main author of the proposed measure, said the amount they would collect could be used for programs, projects and activities to protect the environment.
“We need the support of hotels and resorts in Lapu-Lapu City on this ordinance so we could continuously promote the protection and conservation of our environment,” she said.
An environmental fee, according to the proposed ordinance, is defined as the money collected from any individual who would book rooms in hotels, resorts and other accommodation establishments in the city.
The amount shall be collected from every individual only once during check-in at the hotels, resorts and other accommodation establishments in the city.
Lapu-Lapu City is a top tourist and investment drawer in Cebu as it hosts not only world-class hotels and resorts but is also home to the Mactan-Cebu International Airport, the country’s busiest airport outside of Manila, and two export processing zones.
Exemption, discounts
Section 7 of the proposed ordinance grants a 20-percent discount for Filipino senior citizens and persons with disability upon presentation of valid identification cards, while children 12 years old and below shall be exempted from the payment of environmental fee.
Hotels, resorts and other accommodation establishments that refuse to collect the fees from their guests or fail to remit the fees on the prescribed period as certified by the City Treasurer’s Office will be sanctioned, the proposed measure said.
The first offense would merit a written warning, while a fine of P3,500 and issuance of a written warning on probable revocation of the business permit will be slapped for the second offense.
The third offense carries a penalty of P5,000 and revocation of the business permit.
Cuizon said the proposed ordinance was already submitted to the City Attorney’s Office for comments and additional inputs to improve the proposed measure.