THE DEPARTMENT of Environment and Natural Resources-Western Visayas (DENR-6) has so far covered 30% of the total establishments in Boracay that are considered “polluters” and aim to complete the crackdown by the end of the year. These establishments are not connected to the island’s sewerage treatment facilities operated by Boracay Island Water Company (BIWC) and Boracay Tubi System, Inc. “We will also meet this 30% for a technical conference. We talked with the Department of Tourism and agreed that if they are found guilty, they will cancel their certificate of accreditation. The DENR will cancel their environmental compliance certificate (ECC) and the municipality will cancel their permit,” said DENR-6 Director Jim O. Sampulna. He did not specify the total number of establishments involved in the ongoing monitoring, which would later involve digging up roads to ascertain whether or not these are connected to the sewer system. “We need to establish evidence,” he said. Mr. Sampulna earlier said that based on the DENR’s assessment, untreated wastewater is one of the factors that trigger the growth of algae in one of the country’s most popular tourist destinations. He said the polluted water comes from informal settlers as well as businesses that do not observe proper wastewater management. — Louine Hope U. Conserva

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