THE WAY things are going it does look like Boracay really needs to be closed down for a year, maybe more.
The Department of the Environment and Natural Resources or DENR has quite literally unearthed more and more illegal drainage pipes that dump their sewage waters straight into the “world-famous white beach.”
It seems that for years the establishments are flushing down their shit into the “pristine waters” of Boracay and the tourists are actually swimming in their own shit.
Yup, President Duterte is right in calling Boracay a “cesspool” as it is literally.
Here are excerpts from the May 26 issue of Panay News:
Boracay rehab may need more than 6 months – Cimatu
The rehabilitation works in Boracay might need more than six months, said Environment secretary Roy Cimatu as he revealed problems in the ongoing island cleanup.
Cimatu said he was surprised that 43 illegal pipes unearthed on the island’s beachfront where tourists usually go for a swim.
“I was expecting na wala pong tubo rito (beachfront),” Cimatu said in an interview on Dobol B sa News TV on Friday.
A technical team from the Mines and Geosciences Bureau under the Department of Environment and Natural Resources has conducted a survey along the White Beach using Ground Penetrating Radar machines.
The inspection was made after high levels of coliform bacteria were found in the waters at the beachfront, according to Cimatu.
He said some establishments installed pipes on their own without obtaining the necessary permits.
The unearthed pipes were also proof of violation of the 25-meter-plus-5-meter no-build zone from the shoreline.
While the Environment chief said he is worried that cleanup works in Boracay might need an extension, he clarified that as of the moment the government is still on-track with the rehabilitation.
The DENR Technical Team also discovered a stream or a creek that used to naturally drain rain water into the sea turned into a sewage canal as there were several sewage drainage pipes from establishments flushing their waste into it, which in turn empties right into Boracay’s “pristine white sands and blue waters.”
There’s more. Right smack on “white beach” the DENR found several manholes whose covers where buried in the “white sand” obviously to hide them. Of course we all know what they discovered under the manholes: more shit.
Moi had a close call with these hidden manholes along “white beach” almost 19 years ago at the turn of the millennium while strolling along “white beach.” I stumbled and almost broke my ankle on something hard which turned out to be the steel cover of a manhole partially buried in the “white sand.”
Take note: that was 19 years ago. Just imagine the tons of shit and piss that passed through the underground sewers beneath “white beach” straight into the “pristine blue waters.”
Oh and during that time, middle of May, the algae was in full bloom covering the beach in a green carpet of digested shit courtesy of the constant flow of fresh shit from the sewers under the beach.
There are more than a thousand establishments in Boracay, legal or otherwise. Of that, 842 establishments were initially found to have violated environmental laws, particularly the Clean Water Act of 2004 and the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000.
That’s just for starters; 85 establishments were issued by the DENR with show cause orders after they were found occupying forestland areas.
And almost all beachfront resorts violate the 25+5 shoreline easement, which is the required distance from any structure along the shore to the seawater at high tide.
According to a map prepared by the National Mapping Resource and Information Authority, Boracay has nine wetlands but only two have been left unoccupied.
And guess who occupies these wetlands? Right you are, “squatters” or to be more politically correct, “informal settlers.”
These wetlands, which are supposed to serve as natural catch basins for rain water, not to mention as natural habitats and spawning areas for fish and mangroves, are now the natural toilets for these “informal settlers” and serve as the habitat for their shit.
And you’re wondering why it floods every time there’s heavy downpour in Boracay?
So what will the government do with these “squatters” a.k.a. “informal settlers”? If they’re serious about the rehabilitation of Boracay, these “squatters” a.k.a. “informal settlers” should immediately be removed and all the shanties cleared. All it takes is political will.
Along with that all the local government officials i.e. mayor of the Municipality of Malay, should be dismissed and charged in court for this travesty.
Likewise national government officials i.e. DILG’s Municipal Local Government Officer or MLGOO and DENR’s Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Officer or PENRO should be investigated and charged for negligence perhaps corruption.
Latest pictures coming out of Boracay one month after the closure shows clean beaches, well and good. It’s a start but it’s superficial.
Let’s put it this way: Your house is a mess and your toilet’s clogged. Just sweeping the front yard won’t do. You have to close your toilet, stop using it and clean up all that clogged shit and then your house is clean.
It’s the same thing with Boracay. (brotherlouie16@gmail.com/PN)
