Jun Ariolo N. Aguirre
Boracay Island- When a tourists arrives in this resort island, he will pass through the jetty port and there he will be required to pay P50 as an environment fee supposedly to be use for environment-related undertaking for this resort island.
But a year after the environmental fee collection started, the gathered funds still hangs in the Malay municipal government coffers who imposed the ordinance for tourists - being the Malay government has the geographical jurisdiction of the resort island.
Malay councilor Dante Suguiron said in an interview that the gathered environment fee funds have already reached more than P16 million but there were no clear programs or environment-related projects at hand yet on what to do with the gathered funds.
The ordinance said that before the environmental fee could be utilized, a proponent such as an environmental group or a stakeholders should present a project proposal first before the Sangguniang Bayan of Malay before the release of the budget.
Suguiron is the author of the ordinance being the chair on committee on environment prior to the implementation of the environment fee.
Why P50?
When asked why is it that the Malay municipal government are charging P50, he said that their first decision upon the consultations with the stakeholders are only P30 but this was changed because of the prodding of Aklan Congressman Florencio Miraflores.
Miraflores, according to Suguiron after learning of the proposed environmental fee collection have asked the councilor to increase the rate because P30 is considered cheap for Boracay Island.
"We then decided to place it at the fix rate to P50. In every P50 collection for every tourists, P7.50 of which should be remitted to the Aklan Provincial Government as their fair share for the collection," Suguiron said.
The question on the effectivity of the environmental fee collection after the Aklan Provincial Government reported that they have yet to recieved their P7.50 share for every P50 collection that started more than a year already.
It is presummed that the provincial government have to collect around P2 million from the local government of Malay.
P16 million not enough
Vice Governor Billie Calizo said in earlier interviews that she was told by Malay Mayor Ciceron Cawaling that among the reasons why the gathered funds could not yet be release is because the fund is still short to purchase needed equipments intended for solid waste management in this resort island.
"I understand that the provincial government wanted to get their share from the environment fee but the Malay municipal government and the provincial government must establish a memorandum of agreement first prior to the release of the said funds," Calizo said.
The needed equipment for solid waste management would cost the municipal government some P30 million in order for this resort island to be equip in ensuring cleanliness in this resort island.
Report said, the MOA between the provincial government and the Malay municipal government dealing on the MOA is still to be finalized by two parties.
Street cleaner
For Suguiron, he wanted to ask the provincial government if their share of collection would just be used as annual honorarium to hire shore and street cleaners to maintain the cleanliness of this resort island.
"Since it is stipulated in the ordinance that the environment fee should be strictly used for environment-concerns of this resort island, then we might just as well the Aklan Provincial Government if they could allocate their share for the hiring of cleaners. My proposal will not only sustained the environment of this resort island but also could provide employment," he said.
Suguiron said, the collection fee is still currently in the trust fund of the municipality and is not yet cleared when this will be liquidated.
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