MANILA, Philippines — Rehabilitation of the world-famous Boracay Island will continue even after it was reopened to tourists on Oct. 26, Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu said yesterday.
Cimatu said the agency would continue to monitor the quality of water in the resort island to ensure safety of tourists and residents.
He said the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB), an attached agency of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), has installed a state-of-the-art monitoring system to ensure water quality.
The DENR will ensure compliance by all establishments with the rules stipulated in the environmental compliance certificates (ECCs).
“The government continue to receive application for compliance from different establishments,” Cimatu said.
One of the conditions in applying for an ECC is a service connection to a sewage treatment plant.
Prior to its reopening last month, the EMB said that 717 of 1,258 establishments in Boracay were given certificates of compliance.
At least 155 hotels and other establishments with a total of 7,308 rooms have been allowed to receive guests since Oct. 26.
Cimatu said Boracay would no longer be called a cesspool as business establishments are now cooperating with the government in maintaining cleanliness on the island.
The Boracay interagency task force earlier said it would limit the number of tourists to 19,215 per day, based on the carrying capacity recommendation of the DENR.
According to the carrying capacity study, the island and its swimming areas can only support 55,757 people per day, including 36,542 residents and workers, and 19,215 tourists.
Interior and Local Government officer-in-charge Eduardo Año earlier said the task force was studying the possibility of closing Boracay for one month every year to allow the island to heal itself.
Barge sinks off Boracay
A barge loaded with sand sank as it was sailing toward Boracay yesterday morning.
The LCT Bato Twin had just left Sambiray Port in mainland Caticlan town when it figured in an accident at past 9 a.m., according to Lt. Cmdr. Joe Luviz Mercurio of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG)-Aklan station.
A speed boat and two inflatable boats were deployed to rescue the barge’s 12 crewmembers.
Mercurio said a squall hit the barge, causing it to take in sea water.
“The sand quickly absorbed the water until it became too heavy for the barge,” he said.
Mercurio said a team of divers was deployed in the area to check any oil spill.
Meanwhile, 11 persons including four children were rescued from a yacht that developed engine trouble in the waters off Subic at around 5 a.m. yesterday.
The passengers of M/Y Fusion were taken to the Subic Port by a responding team of the PCG and crewmembers of a tugboat. – With Jennifer Rendon, Edu Punay
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