Environment Secretary Roy A. Cimatu (center) looks at the bundle of unearthed pipes at the beach front in Boracay over the weekend. Teams from the Department of Environment and Natural Resource have been ordered to use ground penetrating radar to detect buried pipes, some of which have been found to be discharging wastewater directly into the sea. — DENR

ONE of 33 pipes so far found buried right at Boracay’s famed White Sand Beach area has tested positive for very high coliform bacteria levels, according to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Western Visayas Region (DENR-6). Regional Director Jim O. Sampulna said the pipe’s coliform level was at 74,000 most probable number per 100 milliliters (MPN/100ml), way above the standard safe level of 400 MPN/100ml. “Secretary (Roy A. Cimatu) was worried because he did not expect that,” Mr. Sampulna said. The owner of the tested pipe has yet to be identified, he said. All the unearthed pipes will be tested, he added. DENR-6 has previously found three pipes discharging wastewater directly to the sea. — Louine Hope U. Conserva

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