ILOILO CITY – The water of world-famous beach destination Boracay Island is safe, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Environmental Management Bureau said.
WORLD-famous Boracay Island in Malay town, Aklan province. (Tara Yap)
Ramar Niel Pascua, DENR-EMB Western Visayas regional director, said monitoring from January to June found out that Boracay waters are within government safety standards.
All 24 monitoring stations in the country’s most popular beach destination in Malay town, Aklan province passed the water safety test that includes the front white beach and the back beach, which used to be the dumping site of untreated sewage water.
Pascua attributed the Duterte administration’s 2018 crackdown that paved way for the strict implementation of the resort island’s sewage system that curbed water pollution.
Majority of the establishments are now linked to the Boracay Island Water Co. and Boracay Tubi Systems Inc. for treatment of generated wastewater.
Boracay hotels and resorts with 40 rooms or more were mandated to have individual sewage treatment plants (STPs) to augment the wastewater treatment of water plants.
“This is for the safety of the tourists swimming in the waters of Boracay,” Pascua said.