Push Admin

3 areas in El Nido declared ‘no-swim zones’

Article (news)

ABS-CBN News

Three areas in El Nido town, Palawan, have been declared &quot;no-swim zones,&quot; the Department of Environment and Natural Resources announced Thursday.According to Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu, swimming will not be allowed in 2 areas in Bacuit Bay and an area in Corong-Corong Bay because of high levels of fecal coliform, a kind of bacteria coming from human and animal waste.“We will continue the no-swimming areas in the 3 outfalls in Bacuit Bay, and one in Corong-Corong,” said Cimatu. An outfall is where runoff from sewage flows out.Cimatu assured that El Nido will not be shut down like Boracay, but &quot;the decision is that we will continue the rehabilitation.&quot;Swimming will be banned in the coastlines of barangays Buena Suerte, Masagana and Corong-Corong, the DENR said.Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said that on March 4, fecal bacteria levels in the El Nido outfall reached 3.448 million units when the standard should only be 100 units.Masagana&#x27;s outfall fecal coliform level reportedly recorded 490,000 units while Corong-Corong had 46,000.“Ang Corong-Corong outfall . . . ang normal is 100. Maiintindihan naman nila siguro kung bakit bawal mag-swimming,” Puyat said.Businesses and households in El Nido have been given 9 months to comply with environmental requirements. Cimatu said officials will be making the rounds in El Nido from August 5 to August 25 to check erring establishments and households.“Iha-highlight doon &#x27;yung mga nagva-violate ng environmental laws, walang business permit, walang accreditation ng Tourism Department . . . There might be some closure of establishments nitong mga prescribed laws for tourism,” Cimatu said.Puyat said 119 establishments, as of Thursday, August 1, have complied. &quot;Ang hindi mag-comply, closure of individual establishments,” she said.No-swim areas are still open for businesses, such as hotels and restaurants, since they can operate as landing and jump-off points for island hoppers.Puyat said that other islands in El Nido are still safe to visit and swim in since they have acceptable levels of bacteria.&quot;So the tourists can still go to Small Lagoon, Big Lagoon, sa mga islands because when we tested it, way below the fecal coliform level,” Puyat said. — With a report from Chiara Zambrano, ABS-CBN News

Swimming will not be allowed in 2 areas in Bacuit Bay and an area in Corong-Corong Bay because of high levels of fecal coliform, the DENR says.

Swimming will not be allowed in 2 areas in Bacuit Bay and an area in Corong-Corong Bay because of high levels of fecal coliform, the DENR says.