ILOILO City – There are at least 16 hotels and tourism establishments that installed their own discharge pipes and flushed liquids beneath Boracay’s beachfront, according to Environment secretary Roy Cimatu.
The illegal pipes were found on Saturday after the government excavated parts of the 4-kilometer beachfront where tourists usually go for a swim.
“Malalaking hotels ‘yan,” Cimatu told ABS-CBN News exactly a month after the island was shut down for a half-year rehabilitation. “They will be subject to further investigation. We have to forward this (finding) to our central office in Manila, wherein the pollution adjudication board will provide the necessary punishment.”
Cimatu said the wastewater discharged from the pipes contributed to the high coliform level in the island’s waters.
The high level of coliform was one of the reasons that tourists and locals were temporarily banned from swimming in undesignated zones in Boracay.
Cimatu added that some hotels have dumped their wastewater into Boracay’s wetlands, which naturally filter water from the island before releasing it to the sea.
He cited a hotel that discharged its wastewater to Wetland No. 3 in Sitio Bulabog, Barangay Balabag.
Residents in the area said the local government dismantled the pipe months ago but for some reason it was connected again.
“Inalis na nga ng local government, binalik ulit. It’s an indication of defiance,” Cimatu stressed.
Furthermore, a drainage line near Wetland No. 7 in Barangay Manoc-manoc – which was already cut off – continues to emit murky water, Cimatu added.
The fecal coliform level from the pipe was at 24 million MPN (most probable number), data from the Environmental Management Bureau showed.
This indicator measures the amount of human and animal waste present in a body of water. The standard coliform level is only at 400 MPN.
Boracay Tubi, one of the two water service providers in the island, was tasked to rehabilitate drainage lines in the area.
Last month, Boracay Tubi said it was building a new 1-kilometer water line to increase its water supply capacity but that it has yet to put up its own sewers. (With a report from ABS-CBN News/PN)
