NEWSFLASH

Quezon City, Aug. 26, 2000 - The Jomabo Island Resort owned by one Jose Montalbo has extracted thousands of cubic meters of coral reef and used these for constructing a sea wall and as foundation of the resort’s cottages.

The provincial environmental group Task Force headed by Julio Aldeguer inspected the resort on July 26 and found the marine sanctuary surrounding the island badly damaged. About 150 meters of coral reef starting from the shoreline showed damage from extraction.

Shells and small squid that once flourished in the area have recently vanished. Several fishermen also complained that their source of livelihood has practically vanished due to the illegal extraction of the coral reef.

Task Force Ilahas also found the Jomabo Island Resort to be operating without any business permit from the Municipality of Escalante. The resort has not been granted an Environmental Compliance Certificate because the municipal government has not endorsed its Environmental Impact Assessment. (Written by: Secretary Antonio Cerilles Department of Environment and Natural Resources)