Protecting Siargao     

Behind the tropical idyll of Siargao Island in Surigao del Norte, an increasingly popular destination for nature-loving tourists, lies an ugly truth: As many as four of every five of its commercial and tourism-related establishments are operating without the required environmental compliance certificate (ECC).

This puts the country’s surfing capital in grave danger of suffering the same fate as Boracay Island, the country’s main tourism draw, that was drastically shut down for six months in 2018 for rampant violation of environmental laws by tourism establishments, thus upending the livelihood of people dependent on tourism.

According to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), of the 1,108 tourism-related establishments on the teardrop-shaped island named after a native mangrove, only 192, or a measly 17 percent, have secured an ECC. Issued by the DENR through its Environmental Management Bureau, the ECC is required for projects and businesses that may have a significant impact on the environment, such as hotels and resorts that exert pressure on areas, especially islands, that have a limited carrying capacity. By operating without an ECC, 83 percent of the establishments in Siargao are in direct violation of Presidential Decree No. 1586, which put in place the environmental impact statement system to ensure that economic activities can be pursued in harmony with environmental protection.

So far, the DENR has issued notices of violation to some 200 establishments in Siargao for operating without an ECC, ordering them to secure one. Indeed, it’s not too late for the thriving Siargao tourism community to shape up, with the DENR credited for its efforts to help these enterprises—most of them micro, small, and medium sized—retrofit their operations to meet the standards necessary to merit an ECC.

Environment Secretary Ma. Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga said local government units (LGUs) and the communities they serve will be provided the tools they need to implement protection programs, among them coastal rehabilitation. “We are very much in that prevention mode,” said Yulo-Loyzaga, who launched the “DENR Services on Wheels” last week as part of efforts to make it easier for Siargao establishments to get their licenses and permits.

This new facility accepts and processes online applications for an ECC, tenurial instrument requests or applications, and titles from business operators and owners. The innovation makes compliance with environmental requirements easier, said Environment Undersecretary Jonas Leones. “Resort owners said they are willing to comply. It is a matter of educating them on what to do. The Services on Wheels aims to address the needs of the establishments,” Leones said.

But it is one thing for business owners to state their intention to comply, and a different proposition altogether for them to actually follow up on that commitment, given that their attention had been called several times previously for violating environmental laws. The DENR has, in fact, found that a number of them have been passing off fake ECCs to skirt the necessarily stringent requirements.

Recall that as early as 2018, on the heels of Boracay’s closure, Surigao del Norte Governor Sol F. Matugas already noted that at least 99 of the 124 resorts in General Luna, where the world-famous Cloud Nine surfing site is located, did not have an ECC. It’s been five years since Siargao resort owners pleaded for more time to secure their ECCs, but clearly not much has been done as majority of them still failed to get the necessary certificate. Just as guilty for dragging their feet and failing to come down hard on violators are the LGUs and the DENR.

This time around, with climate change and the business owners’ continuing disregard for laws increasing the risk of irreparable environmental destruction, the DENR and the LGUs must double down and crack the whip on recalcitrant establishments. Heavy fines, the withholding of their license to operate, and similar sanctions should show these holdouts and violators that government means business.

Over and above these efforts, however, the DENR and the LGUs concerned should come up with an intensive information campaign to stress the need for the entire community to help preserve the beauty and viability of Siargao, named as best island in Asia for Condé Naste Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards 2021. Beyond mere compliance and ticking the appropriate boxes to secure an ECC, resort owners and businesses should take to heart their role as stewards of Siargao Island lest they end up destroying the very environment that sustains their survival and livelihood.