Time to get back the three-meter easement

When I first read the news that the Department of Environment and Natural Resources had discovered there was a cesspool in Mactan and Panglao, my first thoughts were those high-coliform content seas did not happen yesterday but decades ago from neglect by who else…the DENR! I would also like to point out that I personally believe that this could not happen at the Hilutungan Channel because of the strong currents that could wash away those effluents. For sure the cesspool can be found between the two bridges spanning the Mactan Channel.

But still, we need to fix these problems because any effluents thrown into the sea will kill our marine life. Mind you, this problem has been focused primarily on Boracay because of the millions of tourists that visit that paradise island every year. However DENR has been remiss in looking after the many areas within the metropolis, especially along what used to be the five-meter easements, which are no-build zones which I’m sure, those DENR officials did not even look into.

This is why I doff my hat to Pres. Rodrigo “Digong” Duterte for having the political will to close Boracay and bring this environmental disaster to the public eye. Now Boracay is the topic of people in the nation’s coffeehouses. But with the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections coming very soon (today is the last day of filing certificates of candidacies) perhaps we should ask those seeking positions in the barangay what their stand is about the three-meter easement and what they intend to do about this problem.

Mind you, this is happening along the entire stretch of the Guadalupe River which passes through numerous barangays. Can the various barangays passed by the Guadalupe River come up with a unified plan to get settlers or homeowners to return the three-meter easement to the government? Now what about the five-meter easement for the Lahug Creek? I have an aerial photograph of both the Guadalupe River and Lahug Creek taken using my drone and I tell you, you will never see the three-meter easement in these two rivers simply because homeowners and settlers already took them as if they owned this three-meter no-build zone.

At this point, I exhort the Cebu City Council to come up with a sort of scheme which gives those landowners one year to destroy what they have built in the three-meter easement and if they voluntarily return the three-meter easement back to the government, then they won’t be fined. But to the hardheaded ones, not only should they be slapped a hefty fine, but the council has the political will similar to Pres. Duterte.

I’m sure that in the City of Lapu-Lapu, Mayor Paz Radaza can crack the whip against these violators because Mactan enjoys a brisk tourism climate, which Cebu City doesn’t have. Already some 1,000 families were ordered by Mayor Radaza to move out of their locations so close to most resorts and hotels in Mactan inside the three-meter shoreline easements. In Mandaue City, if I know Mayor Luigi Quisumbing, he is one Millennial Mayor who doesn’t just have lots of political will, but a lot of guts! So Luigi, can we see you clean up the Butuanon River?

Meanwhile, Director William Cuñado, EMB director in Central Visayas, said it is still safe for people to swim in the waters of Mactan and Panglao, which is comforting to say the least. To prevent Mactan and Panglao from becoming another Boracay, Cuñado said at least 300 hotels and resorts in Panglao and 30 others in Mactan have been issued notices for violating Republic Act No. 9275, or the Clean Water Act.

Mind you, I personally do not think that Mactan or Panglao for that matter will become another Boracay simply because, as we belatedly learned, Boracay Island is state-owned, meaning no private property owners should have title to any lands within the island. This brings me to the question how Shangri-La Boracay Resort was constructed in their locality. Knowing the Shangri-La Group, they would never build on land that they do not own. So I dare say that it is high time to also look into the Land Registration Office in Boracay, which might reveal a huge corruption scam by the local government unit. Abangan!

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