MANILA — Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu said it would take longer for the government to reopen Boracay Island to tourists if establishments in the famed island tourist resort would not help fix their own sewerage and drainage systems.
Cimatu issued the warning as he said the level of fecal coliform in the waters of Boracay is still way above the accepted level for the waters to be considered safe for human use. Fecal coliform is the bacteria found in feces of humans and animals.
The indiscriminate direct discharge of wastewater into the sea, he noted, is one of the main reasons for the island’s environmental ruin.
“I’ll never allow Boracay’s re-opening if fecal coliform in waters there is above standard,” Cimatu said at the annual celebration of the
International Day for Biological Diversity in Manila on Tuesday.
The government closed Boracay for six months starting last April 26 to speed up the island’s rehabilitation. But Cimatu, who heads the inter-agency task force managing the rehabilitation efforts, wants the drainage system problems fixed before the island’s slated reopening.
This is to allow the checking of the waters’ cleanliness before the reopening.
Cimatu said latest tests made on the Boracay waters had revealed a coliform concentration of 10,000 most probable number per 100 millimeters (MPN/100ml) and as high as 74,000 MPN/100ml in other areas.
The environment department, he pointed out, had set a water quality standard of 400MPN/100mL only.
Cimatu said the Boracay establishments need to speed up fixing their respective faulty sewerage and drainage systems, as the environment department would still check on these for about a month.
He said the checking would see if the systems are functioning well and are complying with regulations.
The establishments must finish the sewerage works before October to allow time for checking before the island’s set reopening, he stressed.
He’ll recommend to Malacanang the reopening of Boracay Island if the testing shows fecal coliform there is already below standard.
Also on Tuesday, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources reported entering into an agreement with major business groups in Boracay regarding the construction of sewerage treatment plants to help address water pollution in the area.
“The agreement was reached during a meeting between DENR Secretary Roy Cimatu and officials of Boracay Foundation Inc., Boracay Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, and Filipino Chinese Chamber Federation Iloilo Chapter,” the department announced.
Earlier Cimatu said desiltation and rehabilitation of drainage lines being undertaken by the Provincial Engineering Office were almost complete, while DENR’s Environmental Management Bureau had issued notices of violation to 195 establishments with no proper sewer connections.
He said a black pipeline would be rechanneled to Boracay Island Water Company’s Balabag sewerage treatment plant, so that effluent could be treated before flowing into the sea. (Catherine Teves/PNA)
