A MEMBER of the House of Representatives on Monday urged the government to strictly regulate the influx of tourists in some of the country’s major tourism spots to ensure their long-term sustainability.
Liberal Party Rep. Edgar Mary Sarmiento of Western Samar said that while the country’s popular tourism destinations, including Boracay Island, are bringing a lot of revenues for the people and the government, there is a need to protect these places from overdevelopment and overcapacity, which is the main cause of pollution and their deterioration.
Sarmiento said overdevelopment and overpopulation now cause too much stress on Boracay, which attracted 1.7 million visitors in 2016 alone and has long been considered as one of the best islands in the world.
When the members of the House of Representatives embarked on the so-called Western-Eastern National Highway Expedition, he said he noticed the rapid degradation of Boracay Island, one of the country’s top tourism spots.
“Members of the House also observed there is an abundance of algal growth, which may be related to pollution and the presence of waste matter surrounding the island,” Sarmiento said.
Sarmiento added the Department of Tourism (DOT) should start setting up specific parameters in terms of capacity and limiting the number of resorts and inns coming out like mushrooms even in interior areas of Boracay Island.
To save Boracay from turning into a wasteland, the lawmaker said there is a need for DOT and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to immediately adopt policies and practices that would stop the island’s rapid environmental decline.
Sarmiento said Congress now needs to intervene and come up with a law that would clearly define policies in managing tourist destinations to promote tourism while ensuring the protection of the environment.
Sarmiento said he filed House Resolution 1087, which urges the House Committee on Tourism to conduct an inquiry “into the roadmap, programs, projects and action plans of the Department of Tourism that aim to regulate tourists spots in order to promote sustainability”.
“Several studies have shown the detrimental environmental impacts that tourism has cause Boracay, such as poor water quality, beach erosion and decrease in coral cover. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources also found out that some areas around Boracay are too dirty to swim on,” Sarmiento’s resolution said.
“The massive influx of tourists and the explosive population growth in the island places it at the risk of destruction. This is highly detrimental as our citizens are reaping numerous benefits from the thriving tourism industry in the area. Moreover, the environmental degradation is a proof of the State’s failure to preserve our natural resources,” Sarmiento added.