The Philippines has revoked a permit issued to a South Korean company to build a spa resort on a restive volcano just outside the capital, an official said Friday. The construction of the spa on the crater of Taal Volcano in Batangas province, 50 kilometres south of Manila, had been suspended since last week amid protests over possible hazards.
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) initially issued an environmental compliance certificate allowing Jung Ang Interventure Corp to go through with the project.
But DENR Secretary Angelo Reyes said his office has now cancelled the certificate after an investigation found that the Korean firm did not meet all requirements.
“They have been less transparent in their application,” he said in a statement. “I don’t think they thoroughly presented the environmental impact of the project.”
Reyes said Jung Ang also failed to secure a clearance from the government’s volcanology institute, the Department of Tourism and local government offices.
Taal Volcano, one of the 22 active volcanoes in the Philippines, lies in the middle of a scenic lake straddling several towns in Batangas.
Thousands of people live on the island and hundreds of tourists visit everyday even though it has been declared a danger zone.
The first of a five-level alert system has been raised on Taal since last year amid increasing signs of unrest.
The volcano last erupted in October 1977 and its deadliest eruption was in 1911, when it killed 1,334 people and its ashes reached Manila.
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Buti naman! That’s good news And why would these guys allow give them a certificate in the first place. Di ba obvious yun?
haha… monetary i guess but since this issue got hyped… it became a dream lost for the korean company..
Good thing they stopped this. It’s just kind of weird to have a spa on a volcano’s crater, an active one at that.
Ced, I agree.. It may create a hype for tourists but if in case the vocano becomes active, it can harm the tourists as well..
This isn’t the first resort built on an active volcano, there is one in Costa Rica, Hawaii, etc. If you try to look at the big picture, the Philippines has a lot to gain from this project and the Koreans with much to lose, if ever the volcano exploded. They are not the only foreigners who are trying to do business in the Phils. ( According to most foreign companies, “pag walang LAGAY = di makakapasa”. or “yung di naLAGYAN, kokontra”) So, what’s stopping them or who’s stopping them from building a 72 million-peso (1.57 million-dollar) resort. The people should dig deeper into this, this is an international issue, wala ng mag-iinvest sa Pnas pag laging ganyan.