TOP ATTRACTION The government campaign to rehabilitate El Nido, Palawan’s leading tourist destination, has paid off as pollution level in the town’s waters has gone down. —MICA VELOSO/CONTRIBUTOR
MANILA, Philippines — Top tourist destination El Nido, Palawan will remain open to tourists amid a rehabilitation, Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Roy Cimatu said Thursday.
His statement comes after reports that the Department of Interior and Local Government has recommended the closure of some villages in El Nido purportedly due to poor water quality and high fecal coliform levels.
“The decision is we will continue the rehabilitation. We will not close El Nido. We will continue the no swimming areas in Bacuit Bay,” he said in a press conference at Camp Aguinaldo.
These areas will be closed to swimming and boat activities: Corong Corong, Cabugao, Masagana, and El Nido Estero.
Cimatu said there is also a possibility that certain establishments that violate prescribed laws for tourism would be closed.
A task force will inspect the establishments and households near tourist destinations in El Nido, he added.
“We gave them 20 days effective August 5 to 25. They have 20 days for them to submit the result of the investigation and inspection,” Cimatu said.
Just last month, Palawan made it to Lonely Planet’s top tourist destinations. It landed in the 8th spot in the 10 best places to visit in the Asia Pacific. /kga