OCULAR INSPECTION. Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office-Negros Occidental head Joan Nathaniel Gerangaya (right) inspects the resort where rocks and boulders have been painted with bright colors, considered vandalism, in late September. “Painting on natural rocks could potentially threaten the water quality of the river,” he said in a statement on Tuesday, Oct.1, 2024. (Photo courtesy of PENRO Negros Occidental)
BACOLOD CITY — The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has ordered the immediate removal of paint on rocks in a riverbed at Murcia, Negros Occidental, as it looks into the possible sanctions on the persons involved in the act of vandalism.
“Painting on natural rocks could potentially threaten the water quality of the river,” Joan Nathaniel Gerangaya, head of the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (Penro) in Negros Occidental, said in a statement on Monday.
A video of the colorful rocks inside the Russian Resort owned by Ivan Orlov along the Asia River in Purok Gayas, Barangay Minoyan, went viral on social media in September.
It prompted the Penro-Negros Occidental to conduct an ocular inspection led by Gerangaya with Mayor Victor Gerardo Rojas.
In coordination with the Community Enro of Bago City-Surveillance and Intelligence Unit, the Penro investigation showed that painting boulders and rocks with various colors is considered an act of vandalism.
The Asia River is considered the main water source for two of the seven famous waterfalls at the Mambukal Resort and Wildlife Sanctuary, which is owned by the provincial government. It is a tributary of the Bago River and is located near the Mt. Kanlaon Natural Park.
Gerangaya said that painting in flowing bodies of water could affect freshwater and marine life, and directed the resort owner to remove the paint using less harmful solutions such as manual brushing or pressure washing.
“We want to enjoy our environment and its natural beauty, not the painted one. Attracting tourists for economic growth should not be an excuse for any resort owner and/or businessman to vandalize and damage our natural resources,” DENR-Western Visayas OIC-Regional Executive Director Raul Lorilla said in a statement.
According to the DENR-Western Visayas, the Environmental Management Bureau investigated and enforced the provisions of Republic Act 9275, or the Clean Water Act, as part of its response.
“As the matter concerns the protection and conservation of water, the National Water Resources Board was also informed regarding the incident,” it added. (PNA)
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