human waste in PUERTO GALERA go straight to the beach

I heard about the contamination of Boracay a few months ago which lead to issues raised concerning the presence of E coli in the island and I was alarmed.This time, another famous tourist destination in the Philippines is on the radar due to "sanitation issues." ---PUERTO GALERA.


I was in Pangasinan over the weened and one email caught my attention.Somebody came across my blog after searching for an alternative place to go for their summer vacation.She said she saw the FAILON NGAYON report on Puerto Galera so her family decided to cancel their booking in a resort in White Beach and are looking for an alternative instead---in this case, San Juan Batangas.


For sure, people are alarmed.In the tv program, Ted Failon reported of a small lake only a few meters away from White Beach.It's full of human waste.The concern is that, when it's high tide, all the waste could go straight to the sea. This causes concern to many-------except for the local government which is not doing anything about it.

human wastes in PUERTO GALERA go straight to the beach

What's even more alarming is the fact that the Barangay Captain interviewed during the show admitted that the lake has been there since he was born but he is not even aware of all the floating human waste in it.I saw the tv footage and it's really gross.

How can the local government do something about the problem if they are not even aware of it? Or maybe they know but they pretend not to know.That makes matters worse........

 

I was in Puerto Galera last year and the photos here along with the ones in my blog entries of the place were taken in White Beach during Holy Week of 2011.

here's the rest of the entries:

http://www.pusangkalye.net/2011/06/spending-holy-week-in-puerto-galera.html

http://www.pusangkalye.net/2011/08/when-night-falls-in-puerto-galera.html

http://www.pusangkalye.net/2011/08/sun-gods-of-puerto-galera.html

Whilst I didn't personally see the lake mentioned in the report, I noticed that resorts along White Beach are indeed sprawling out of control.The shops are already choking the beach front there's not much to walk at.There's no efficient zoning and going around is like walking in a maze of inns.This is one case of a tourist spot squandered as the local government was not able to take pro-active control of the situation. The human waste and garbage issue is reflective of this lack of planning and action of the local government.

 

here's the summary of last Saturday's FAILON NGAYON report

(in tagalog)

"Masarap lumangoy sa mga magagandang dagat sa bansa ngayong summer ngunit matutuwa ka kaya kapag sa iyong pagtatampisaw ay bigla kang makakita ng lumulutang na dumi ng tao?Isa lamang ito sa mga suliraning dala ng kawalan ng kaukulang permit ng ilang mga resort na iimbestigahan ni Ted Failon ngayong Sabado (Abr 28) sa “Failon Ngayon.”

Una ng natiktikan ni Ted ang mga resort sa Boracay at ngayon, bubuweltahan niya naman ang mga resort sa Puerto Gallera na walang kaukulang dokumento tulad ng environmental compliant certificate, building permit, at even mayor’s permit.

Talaga namang nakakaalarma na ang patuloy na pagdumi ng mga karagatan dito lalo pa’t hindi basura, kung hindi dumi ng tao ang diretsong tumatapon sa dagat.Base sa pag-imbestiga ng programa, napag-alamang ang mga resort na kulang sa permit at walang maayos na drainage system ang dahilan ng unti-unting pagkasira ng Puerto Galera.

Ano nga kaya ang solusyon sa problemang ito? Bakit nga ba hindi maipasara ang mga resort na ito?

  

While Puerto Galera may not be the best of beach destinations, it continue to be a famous spot for both local and foreign tourists. It's proximity in Manila makes it a viable place for a quick retreat and I reckon that it will continue to be one in years---that is, if we do something about the issues of sanitation.

Blame greed among businesses in the area or the inaction of the local government? Both should do their part but more so, the government should step in and flex its muscles.This is sad.

I was in Pangasinan last weekend and I personally saw another tourist spot with a lot of potential in the process of decay.I will talk about it in one of my posts soon.................

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should you want to watch it, here's the link
http://www.pnoytv.com/2012/04/failon-ngayon-april-28-2012-episode.html