Coastal villages also blamed for beach pollution in Ilocos

SURF TOWN The surfing town of San Juan in La Union province has been drawing visitors due to its gentle waves friendly to beginners. —WILLIE LOMIBAO

LINGAYEN, PANGASINAN—Coastal communities are also as liable as tourist establishments for violating environmental laws in the Ilocos region.

Martin Valera, Ilocos regional director of the Department of Tourism, disclosed this on Thursday as a multisectoral monitoring task force started inspecting coastal tourism facilities in the region.

“Many establishments are noncompliant. But settlement areas in coastal communities also have issues. This is not just a tourism problem. It’s a health …, governance and environmental issue,” he said.

Waste disposal

The Ilocos region, which is composed of the provinces of Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, La Union and Pangasinan, has a 708.17-kilometer coastline stretching from Pagudpud town in Ilocos Norte to Infanta town in Pangasinan. It also has 47 coastal towns and six coastal cities.

The most common violations in the tourist destinations involved the disposal of solid and water wastes, as well as structures built 30 meters from the high tide waterline, Valera said.

Aside from Pagudpud, which was recently inspected by Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu, environmental breaches were also observed in the beaches of San Fabian and Bolinao towns in Pangasinan, said Reynulfo Juan, Ilocos regional director of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

“I could say that we are in a much better situation [than Boracay]. But there are certain local issues that have to be immediately addressed so things will not worsen,” Juan said.

During a coastal watch summit in La Union last month, some 300 beach resort owners, local government officials and representatives from nongovernment and peoples’ organizations from the Ilocos region agreed to clean up their waterfronts and rectify environmental code violations.

With Boracay’s closure for six months, the beaches in the region could be offered as alternative destinations, Juan said.

Tourism sites

Among the region’s popular tourist destinations include the white sand beaches of Pagudpud in Ilocos Norte and Bolinao in Pangasinan, the surfing area in San Juan town in La Union, the Hundred Islands National Park in Alaminos City, and the public beaches of San Fabian, Lingayen and Dagupan City in Pangasinan and Bauang town in La Union. —GABRIEL CARDINOZA