DENR cracks down on establishments contributing to Boracay pollution

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources is cracking down on commercial establishments that may be polluting the water in world-famous Boracay Island.

DENR Secretary Ramon Paje said an inventory is being conducted on establishments that lack environmental permits and violate environmental laws.

“We will issue orders of cessation of operation if they don't comply with our requirements," he said, adding the inventory could be completed in two weeks.

Once the inventory is finished, he said they will send violation notices to the erring establishments so they can address their violations.

Resorts and establishments without their own sewage treatment plants will be made to connect to the island's sewer lines, he added.

The crackdown stemmed from what the DENR described as "green and slimy algae marring Boracay's shoreline."


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However, it added water samples indicate the island's water remains safe for swimming.

Still, Paje said the boom in algae growth indicates water pollution due to poor waste management as sewage is dumped into the waters.

Last February, the DENR's Environmental Management Bureau in Western Visayas reported coliform bacteria levels in a drainage outlet that empties into the sea in Sitio Bulabog in Boracay exceed safe standards.

The levels reached 47,460 most probable number (mpn) per 100 millimeter (ml), above the safe level of 1,000 mpn/100ml for water for swimming and other human contact activities.

"Apart from posing serious health and sanitary problems, coliform bacteria could also adversely affect aquatic resources, including marine life and coral reefs which, aside from the powdery white sand beaches, form part of the island’s main attractions," the DENR said.

Business permits

Meanwhile, Paje urged the local government of Malay town in Aklan to withhold issuing business permits to establishments that do not have a discharge permit or connection to the sewerage system.

The DENR cited a study by conservation group Global Coral Reef Alliance showing green algae along Boracay's shoreline during the calm season is a "strong indicator of very high nutrient pollution."

It said the study indicated seasonal blooms are "due to the uncontrolled explosion of population growth in the interior of the island, whose sewage is not connected to the sewage system."  — Joel Locsin/LBG, GMA News