CEBU CITY — The closure of Boracay has triggered cleanup consciousness among local government units with tourism sites.
The Provincial Government wants Moalboal town, southwest of Cebu, to follow the initiative of Oslob to close the town’s sandbar and dive sites for a week of cleanup operation.
Vice Governor Agnes Magpale considers asking Moalboal officials to control the number of tourists on the coastline doing various water related activities.
Moalboal Mayor Inocentes said the local government and the operators of 27 dive shops in the area conduct an annual coastal cleanup. Scubasurero is an annual underwater cleanup in the town.
The mayor said that the Municipal Council is working on an ordinance that will require dive shops participation in Scubasurero operation for the renewal of their business permits.
Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Paz Radaza, on the other hand, created a team to monitor beach areas in the city. She ordered a weekly underwater cleanup in the waters off Lapu-Lapu.
Meanwhile, the regional office of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources reported that the waters of Mactan Island exceeded the fecal coliform standard set by the office.
According to William Cunado, DENR-Environmental Management Bureau director Mactan has reached 180 to 250 Most Probable Number (MPN) per 100 millililiters. The DENR standard is 100 MPN per 100 ml.
Cunado said 37 hotels and resorts in Mactan were issued notices for violating the Clean Water Act.
