DILG Sec. Eduardo Año: ‘Palawan tourist sites may be closed’

MANILA, Philippines — Other travel destinations – including those in Palawan – might go the way of Boracay and be shut down if major violations of environmental laws and local ordinances are found in these tourist areas, Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said yesterday.

Año issued the statement after President Duterte warned local officials in Palawan that they could face sanctions for violation of environmental laws.

“If we find major violations of the law, we’ll really shut them down,” Año told reporters.

He also warned local officials to make sure tourism establishments in their respective jurisdictions follow local and national sanitation and environmental laws.

Local officials who allow such violations to happen would be prosecuted and recommended for preventive suspension, Año said.

He said he has yet to send inspectors to Palawan and other major tourist attractions but the President’s repeated warnings have already prompted many local officials to start removing illegal structures in resorts in their respective areas.

He said he is set to meet with Palawan officials to discuss the matter. “We’ve been receiving reports of illegal sewerage systems and wastes dumped directly into the sea,” Año said.

In a related development, Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said the heads of the Boracay Interagency Task Force (BIATF) are set to meet with the mayor of El Nido, Palawan tomorrow.

“This Wednesday, the mayor of El Nido is coming here and hopefully, she starts to listen to us or else – my suggestion to the President is not to close El Nido, but to close only those that are not compliant,” Puyat told reporters on the sidelines of the Duty Free Luxe Christmas lighting.  – With Marc Jayson Cayabyab, Catherine Talavera