(Eagle News)–The dismissal of Malay, Aklan Mayor Cicero Cawaling should serve as a “warning” against local executives they should be “proactive” and take steps to protect and preserve the environment in their respective localities, the Department of the Interior and Local Government said.
According to the DILG, local public officials should not wait for cases to be filed against them, and should “serve as local ‘Avengers’ because disaster risk reduction and protecting the ecological health of your localities is our own ‘Infinity War.'”
The agency said it will not hesitate to file charges against local executives who do not do this and do not help the government in its efforts to protect the environment.
Apart from Cawaling, dismissed from government service was Malay’s business licensing officer Jen Salsona for gross neglect of duty, conduct unbecoming a public official and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of service for their failure to implement laws and ordinances that resulted in the deterioration of Boracay.
For this, the Ombudsman noted that some establishments on the island operated without the required fire safety inspection certificate, and others encroached on the 25+5 meter easement in violation of Malay Municipal Ordinance No. 2000-131.
The charges against Cawaling and Salsona had been filed by the Department of the Interior and Local Government, after President Rodrigo Duterte noted the world-class island was already a “cesspool.”
