Panglao’s waters safe for swimming – DENR

TAGBILARAN CITY – The latest test done by the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) showed that Panglao's waters are safe for swimming even as the local governments in Bohol and Panglao expressed the need to address the factors that may cause a spike in water contamination.

In a statement from the Effective Development Communication Unit (Edcom) released on Saturday, all water samples from 10 sampling stations passed, with fecal coliform levels all under the standard of 100 most probable number (MPN) per 100 milliliters (ml).

The same statement said the EMB conducted ambient water quality sampling last December 4 to 6.

To ensure the proper monitoring of the water quality, EMB will be conducting water sampling and analysis on weekly as asked for by Bohol Gov. Edgar Chatto.

Chatto asked the EMB for frequent testing and analysis following the shocking contamination spike of 16,000 mpn/100 ml that was recorded in October this year.

The figure of 16,000 mpn/100 ml was registered in only one sampling station located in Barangay Tawala the host of the Alona Beach area.

According to the EMB, the October result should not be conclusive because there was no upward trend established based on previous months' results.

In November, the sampling station in Tawala I where Alona Beach is located registered 33 MPN/100 ml. and further went down to 23 MPN/100 ml in December.

The following data on water quality was released by the EMB's sampling stations in Panglao. In Doljo Station 1, 7.8mpn/100ml; Doljo 2, 1.8mpn; Danao 1, less 1.8mpn; Danao 2, 23mpn; Danao 3, 49mpn; Tawala 1 (where the sample that registered the 16,000mpn was taken), 23mpn; Tawala 2, 23mpn; Tawala 3, 79mpn; Bolod 1, 23mpn; and Bolod 2, 13mpn.

According to Edcom, the latest status report of the EMB was signed by EMB's Central Visayas director William Cuñado, Jacquelyn Odtojan, laboratory head; Engr. Anecita Dinoy, chief, Environmental Monitoring and Enforcement Division (EMED); and Philip Anthony Lee, registered medical technologist.

The EMB said the factors that might have caused the spike in the fecal coliform levels in October may be attributed to the tourist bancas (boats) moored near Alona Beach with no known waste receptacles and possibly dumping the waste to the water, the presence of stray animals near the shore, and tides, water current, and the weather that may have caused a negative impact in the water quality sample at the time of the sampling.