Panglao Island in Bohol may face closure, similar to what had happened to Boracay, considering their low compliance in the implementation of the coastal easement and improvement of water treatment facilities to prevent further contamination in the island’s seawater.
Bohol Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (PENRO) head Charlie Fabre revealed that even the quality of seawater continues to fluctuate from below 100 most probable number (MPN) per fecal coliform contamination to 500 MPN or 600 MPN.
According to DENR, they’ve set the standards to 100 MPN for the quality of seawater for it to be declared clean and safe for bathing.
On the easement, only 18 out of the 87 establishments have volunteered to do the demolition of their structures. The other one was demolished upon order of the local government unit of Panglao.
The remaining 71, according to Fabre, are still slowly implementing it citing costs and the limited space in their area as some factors that cause the delay.
However, the deadline for the implementation of such measures to improve the island was in May this year. The first deadline was last April to June 2018 and the second extension was in November 2018 until May.
“Wala nami mahimo og unsa’y decision sa DENR Central Office (We can’t do anything on the decision of the DENR Central Office),” Fabre said in a telephone interview.
The local government unit of Panglao has requested for consideration on this but Fabre said they have no authority to decide.
Fabre shared that Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu has always been asking for updates on the status in Panglao island.
For their part, they have been sending monthly reports to their regional office in Cebu City. Their regional office sends it to their Central Office in Manila.
Photo credit: Municipality of Panglao Facebook page
