Narito ang kanilang Press Release:The management of D’Mall of Boracay has belied allegations that their commercial establishment is built on wetlands.
D’Mall is a sprawling, outdoor shopping and dining center located between Station 1 and Station 2 in Barangay Balabag, Boracay Island.
Based on tax declaration documents filed with the local government, the area where D’Mall was constructed was a composite of lands that were classified as Commercial, Agricultural, Residential, and Cocal, referring to lands planted with coconut trees.
As shown in maps of Boracay, the mangrove and swamp area that was identified as wetlands is located in a lake that is across the barangay road from D’Mall.
According to Atty. Rudolph Jularbal, Head of the Legal and Regulatory Compliance Group for D’Mall, “As a matter of Good Corporate Governance and being a pioneering developer in Boracay, we have always known that it’s the pristine beauty of the island that makes it a global attraction.
“As such, it’s imperative that our establishments in Boracay conduct business in a manner that’s environmentally sustainable and socially responsible. This is what guides us and we have encouraged other establishments to follow suit.”
ECC Compliance
In the D’Mall development and expansion projects since 1999 until the present, all of which are covered by the appropriate Environmental Compliance Certificates (ECCs), D’Mall management has worked closely with the Department of Environment Natural Resources (DENR), the local government, and experts to undertake in-depth environmental impact assessments and monitoring of the area.
One of the important items detailed in D’Mall’s Initial Environmental Examination was the construction of a culvert to replace an open creek, which traverses the development site and channels rainwater to the sea.
While D’Mall completed the construction of the culvert, a 2004 Environmental Management Bureau report found that several other businesses upstream of and unrelated to the D’Mall, the main road, illegally connected their sewer pipes to the culvert intended to direct rainwater runoff.
These illegal connections, which caused worsening pollution in Boracay, compelled municipal officials to order the closure of the storm drain leading to the sea.
Rainwater and Sewage Management
While D'Mall has always directed only rainwater into the municipal storm drain system, the closure of the storm drain system caused the effluent from establishments upstream with illegal connections to overflow into D'Mall.
Because of this, D'Mall isolated its own storm drain system and created an independent rainwater catch system.
D'Mall has always had access to the sewer line on the main road since the beginning of its construction and has always directed the sewage of its establishment to the Boracay sewerage system.
“D’Mall has been strictly following environment-friendly waste management procedures for both solid waste and sewage,” Jularbal said. “D’Mall has consistently practiced daily garbage segregation as part of its solid waste management procedures.”
About a year ago, D’Mall begun constructing two sewage treatment plants, including one that is capable of tertiary water treatment and grey-water recycling.
Tertiary water treatment is an additional cleaning process that improves the quality of wastewater before it is reused, while grey water recycling allows recycled water to be used for toilet flushing and plant irrigation, thus further contributing to water conservation.
Civil works for D’Mall’s sewage facility have been completed and when the plant becomes operational in the coming months, D’Mall will be one of only a few establishments in Boracay with its own sewage treatment facility.
Furthermore, D'Mall is currently constructing a holding tank that can hold 262 cubic meters of storm water, as well as a box culvert within D’Malls roadways that can hold 255 cubic meters of storm water.
The holding tank and box culvert will be connected to the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA) pumping station, which was built to reduce the incidence of flooding in the island’s more flood-prone areas.
“Despite the challenges brought about by increased influx of tourists, D’Mall, as one of the pioneers of developing Boracay as a tourist destination, is committed to upholding environmental sustainability,” Jularbal said.
“We are adherents of and advocates for sustainable and responsible business practices, and we will continue to be a partner of the national and local government in environmentally-focused corporate social responsibility initiatives.”
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