By Dean Aubrey Caratiquet
To maintain its world-famous white sand beach and clear turquoise waters, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) ordered tighter guidelines in issuing appropriate certification for those who want to conduct business on Boracay Island.
This, as the agency issued Administrative Order No. 2025-36, which calls for further evaluation of the island’s carrying capacity and geological hazards in the review and processing of existing
Environmental Compliance Certificates (ECC) and Certificates of Non-Coverage (CNC).
The order encompasses all existing projects, expansion projects, and new developments on the island, as well as new and existing structures, as part of an ongoing rehabilitation of the tropical paradise.
Among the requirements for obtaining an ECC were as follows:
- Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) or Initial Environmental Examination (IEE) checklist
- LGU certification confirming compatibility with existing land use plans or zoning certificates
- Sangguniang Bayan resolution on land reclassification/land use exemption/ land use conversion
- Project layout overlaid on a Google project location map
- Site development plan signed by registered professional/s
- Proof of Authority over the project site (public land, private land, or land under ancestral domains)
- Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (PENRO) land classification certificate
- Engineering Geological and Geohazard Assessment Report endorsed by the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB)
- MGB-issued Geohazard Verification Report
- carrying capacity assessments endorsed by the Ecosystems Research and Development Bureau (ERDB)
- LGU Clearance/Certification on compliance with Physical Carrying Capacity Limits
However, while qualified family dwellings, small local businesses, places of worship, minor public infrastructure, and new national government projects under applicable thresholds are not covered by EIS new national government projects, proponents behind these must secure a CNC at the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) Region VI.
Only projects that comply with Boracay’s approved land use, zoning, and development framework and have the required environmental clearances and permits will be given the green signal to proceed.
Moreover, the DENR Regional Office is tasked to ensure that these projects comply with environmental safeguards, such as provisions for wastewater or sewerage treatment facilities and proper solid waste management in compliance with Republic Act No. 9003.
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