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Boracay rehab group: Algae growth on beach not toxic, not reason for worry

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ABS-CBN News

<p>BORACAY—The Boracay Interagency Rehabilitation Management Group (BIARMG) on Saturday said the presence of green algae along the island coast was a natural phenomenon and was not a sign of lower water quality levels. </p><p>In a statement, the BIARMG said the algae proliferate normally during the dry season. </p><p>&quot;This is non-toxic and should not be a cause for concern. In fact, the volume of algae has naturally subsided significantly in the past 2 weeks,&quot; the BIARMG said.</p><p>It added that the fecal coliform levels in the island&#x27;s front beach was between 8 to 11 mpn (most probable number) per 100 milliliters between January and February 2022. BIARMG said this met the water quality standards for swimming, which is at 100 mpn per 100 ml. <br/> </p><div class="media-content"><div class="slider-for"><div><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/news/03/05/20220305-boracay.jpg"/></div><div><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/news/03/05/20201001-covid19-boracay-reopening-sbg-7.jpg"/></div></div><div class="media-content slider-desc"><div class="item-desc"><div><cite>Photo courtesy of Jhay-are Nabua Padilla</cite></div></div><div class="item-desc"><p>Boracay as it reopens to tourists amid the COVID-19 pandemic in this photo taken on October 1, 2020. <cite>Stanley Buenafe Gajete/file</cite></p></div></div></div><p>&quot;The tourists are assured that Boracay&#x27;s waters are clean and safe for swimming and BIARMG is steadfast in its mandate to provide accurate information to the public,&quot; said BIARMG general manager Martin Jose V. Despi. </p><p>The Boracay city environment and natural resources office) said the algae was expected to last until April or May. <strong>— Report by Rolen Escaniel</strong><br/> </p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/multimedia/video/03/02/22/lumot-sa-boracay">WATCH: Lumot sa Boracay</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/multimedia/photo/02/12/22/boracay-welcomes-tourists-under-looser-restrictions">READ: Tourists flock to Boracay amid scaled-back COVID-19 restrictions</a></li></ul>

‘The tourists are assured that Boracay's waters are clean and safe for swimming,’ the group tasked with cleaning up the tourist destination says.