{"id":172702,"date":"2018-07-23T22:30:34","date_gmt":"2018-07-24T02:30:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=172702"},"modified":"2018-07-23T22:30:34","modified_gmt":"2018-07-24T02:30:34","slug":"boracay-rehab-new-beginning-radical-reforms-duterte","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2018\/07\/23\/boracay-rehab-new-beginning-radical-reforms-duterte\/","title":{"rendered":"Boracay rehab new beginning of \u2018radical reforms\u2019: Duterte"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
\u201cEnvironmental protection and ensuring the health of our people cannot be overemphasized; thus, our actions in Boracay mark the beginning of a new national effort,\u201d Duterte said in his third State of the Nation Address (SONA). (Shutterstock)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

MANILA<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday said the Boracay rehabilitation was just the beginning of the radical reforms he intends to impose, as part of his administration\u2019s campaign to protect and preserve the environment and natural resources.<\/p>\n

\u201cEnvironmental protection and ensuring the health of our people cannot be overemphasized; thus, our actions in Boracay mark the beginning of a new national effort,\u201d Duterte said in his third State of the Nation Address (SONA).<\/p>\n

Duterte has reiterated his commitment not to allow the deterioration not only of the famous beach destination, but other tourist spots in the country as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cI could not allow this decay to continue; decisive action has long been overdue. Recognizing that we are mere stewards of our natural resources, and I said enough is enough,\u201d Duterte said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe intend to restore its environmental integrity, alongside measures to alleviate those whose livelihood was momentarily affected,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

He said Boracay Island, which he once described as \u2018cesspool,\u2019 has sadly become the representation of the government\u2019s negligence \u201cincluding mine\u201d.<\/p>\n

Thus, the popular Filipino leader encouraged local government units to proactively enforce all environmental laws \u201cand not wait for us to swoop down on your areas just to do your duty and work\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor the other tourist destinations needing urgent rehabilitation and enforcement of environmental and other laws shall soon follow,\u201d Duterte said.<\/p>\n

Duterte said what is being done to Boracay is also an indication of the long-overdue need for holistic and sustainable utilization, management and developing of the country\u2019s lands.<\/p>\n

With this, the President urged the Senate to urgently pass the National Land Use Act \u201cto put in place a national land use policy that will address our competing land requirements for food, housing, businesses, and environmental conservation\u201d.<\/p>\n

Duterte warned \u201cirresponsible miners\u201d to stop destroying the country\u2019s rich natural resources particularly watersheds, forests and aquatic resources<\/p>\n

\u201cTo the mining industry, I say this once again and maybe for the last time, do not destroy the environment or compromise our resources; repair what you have mismanaged,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cExtracted resources must be used for the benefit of the Filipino people, not just a select few. Do not just give me taxes. I can get it from other sources. Give me what needs to be given to my countrymen,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Banning open pit mining<\/strong><\/p>\n

Duterte reiterated his plans to impose \u201crestrictive policies\u201d including the prohibition of open pit mining.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is destroying my country. It is destroying the environment. It will destroy the world of tomorrow for our children,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cExpect reforms, radical ones. I cannot intend to quarrel with anybody, with the moneyed, but for as long as I am here I said: you will just have to contend with me,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

He exhorted all concerned agencies and local government units to uphold the concept of inter-generational responsibility in the exploration and utilization of the country\u2019s natural resources and wealth.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MANILA\u00a0\u2013 President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday said the Boracay rehabilitation was just the beginning of the radical reforms he intends …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":153992,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1145,16,95],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-172702","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headline","category-news","category-news-ph","mauthors-jelly-musico","mauthors-philippine-news-agency"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172702","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=172702"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172702\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/153992"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=172702"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=172702"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=172702"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}