Decision on closure of parts of El Nido out by Aug. 1

El Nido town’s coastal cove facing Bacuit Bay. (Photo courtesy of the El Nido Tourism Office)

MANILA, Philippines — The El Nido Inter-Agency Rehabilitation Task Force will release on Aug. 1 its decision whether or not to close for rehabilitation parts of El Nido in Palawan.

“Every angle will be considered, first of all, the economic impact, the tourism impact and of course, the environmental impact,” Undersecretary Benny Antiporda of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources said at the “Saturday Forum at Annabel’s Kapihan sa Quezon City.”

The task force is composed of the DENR, the Department of Tourism (DOT) and Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG). It is tasked with studying the situation at the tourist site, which some locals and tourists reported as having poor water quality and having algae prevalence in Bacuit Bay.

The DILG sent letters to Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu and Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat seeking closure of parts of the tourist site, particularly Bacuit Bay and Corong-Corong Outfall because of high levels of coliform.

READ: DILG seeks three-month closure of parts of El Nido

However, Antiporda noted that the task force would still have to discuss whether the four outfalls, which includes three in Bacuit Bay and one in Corong-Corong, would be closed temporarily.

As a temporary precaution, Antiporda said, the task force asked the help of the Philippine National Police (PNP) to keep swimmers out of areas with high levels of coliform.

/atm