Environmental consciousness
After the environmental crackdown in Boracay Island, the Secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources already announced that there will be a lot next on their list, one of which was Panglao in Bohol. He made the rounds in Panglao, assured that everything was good except for some issues about the easement. The secretary then went back to focusing on the work that was to be done in Boracay Island. The president signed the mandate to officially close the island for the next six months.
Days passed and other local government units with tourist-attracting islands are now on their toes, careful in making sure that all environmental laws have been followed. Has the closure of Boracay stirred environmental consciousness in other LGUs? Maybe. I hope so. Or certainly, because days after the town of Oslob in South Cebu decided to close the dive site and sandbar in Sumilon Island for a week. The mayor reasoned out that there is cleaning that needs to be done after guests left mounds of trash after Holy Week. True enough, the three-day clean-up yielded almost three tons of trash. Even if the clean-up has ended, the mentioned parts of the island will remain to be closed to let it "rest."
It is hard to strike the balance between business and taking care of the environment especially when a lot of people have started to depend solely on tourism. Tourism officials should know when to intervene when the situation gets out of hand. But I have to commend Oslob for their initiative in making sure their attention would not be called first, they made a move right away.
The bottom line is this could have been avoided if proper regulation from the LGU was done in the first place. There are laws made but not properly followed. Money might be a matter but if officials know what to prioritize, all this wouldn't have to happen in the first place. There should have been strict rules for tourists who will be visiting. Well, I guess it is better late than never. Other places could follow suit now. Cebu Province is asking Moalboal to do the same as Oslob. Maybe it is an eye-opener for everyone that taking care of nature is a serious responsibility. If it needs to sacrifice the jobs of others temporarily, then it could be worth the risk.
We made our own laws, we should not be ignorant about then. They were made by legislators with good intentions in mind. If we just keep mum and deaf about the realities of the destruction to the environment, then only God knows when he will take it away from us. We owe nature the blessings that we enjoy out of it - not only economically but also the peace the seas and other scenery give to our souls. Hopefully one day we wake up to the reality that everything is just on loan to us from up above.
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