Given economic viability of a BOT sewerage project and the town’s support, Puerto Galera may become the first municipality to have a centralized sewerage system in the Philippines.

Former Energy Secretary Raphael P.M. Lotilla, newly appointed regional program director of the Partnerships in Environmental Management for the Seas of East Asia (PEMSEA), said PEMSEA has done preparation works for the request for a proposal for the BOT project.

"We’re hoping there will be interest (from the private sector) to respond to this request. Some private companies now recognize that you have to protect the environment or kill the goose that lays the golden egg," he said in an interview.

He believes the project can have the potential to become self-sustaining after the success of the municipal government to implement a users’ fee program to visitors of the coastal town.

"The fact that they have been able to put in place a users’ fee that’s earning for them P7 million from zero (says a lot about successful governance in the town)," he said.

Keeping marine scientists and technical specialists, PEMSEA has extended its environmental expertise to the Puerto Galera local government, hoping the project can become replicable all over the Philippines.

Lotilla — who also oversees PEMSEA operations all over China, Thailand, Korea, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, and other South East Asian countries — hopes the Philippines can take advantage of PEMSEA’s being headquartered in the Philippines.

"(We should look at) what the project can do for us," he said. "(Environment Sec. Lito) Atienza wants harder targets and faster targets (for clean water projects)."

Puerto Galera, through a municipal order pushed by present and past mayors Hubert Dolor and Aristeo Atienza, has imposed a P50 fee per visitor in the tourist site.