This Week in Palawan (August 10 to 16, 2019)

As the rainy season is in full swing, scattered rains will pour over Palawan almost every day throughout this week [1]. Rain showers with thunderstorms will likely be experienced any time of the incoming days, while chances for the sun to show up are low, especially in the latter half of the week. The temperature is predicted to range between 28°C to 29.4°C during the day, and 27°C to 28°C during the night. To keep you dry whenever you go out, bring rain essentials like an umbrella or raincoat. This is also the best season to consume vitamin-rich food that will help boost your immune system, and protect you from the flu and other weather-related illnesses.

El Nido would see the three-month closure of its four barangays identified as problem areas [2]. The “selective closure” decision was issued by the regional Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) after identifying these areas “where majority of the non-compliant establishments are located.” Among the problems present here are “incomplete sewerage treatment plants, non-compliance with environmental regulations, and the worsening water quality in Bacuit Bay.”

The environmental problems persist despite the purge in El Nido which started earlier in 2018, triggered by Boracay’s tourism woes that led to its six-month total closure. In the El Nido cleanup plan, the national government has ordered a moratorium on the issuance of permits to new establishments until the carrying capacity study for the town is finished. The regional DENR chief will discuss this move with the newly elected town mayor sometime this August.

The management of Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm (IPPF) is assessing potential tourist sites for development inside its property [3]. They are particularly looking at opening a potential recreational fishing area in Montible, and rehabilitating a forest in Sta. Lucia that can be a site for birdwatching as it serves as home to the charismatic Philippine cockatoo. Relatedly, firefly watching along Iwahig River will be re-opened and managed by a private investor. On one hand, the City Tourism Office plans to include IPPF’s American era facilities in the city’s heritage tourism sites package which it will soon develop and promote [4]. The IPPF management, meanwhile, assures of tourists’ safety when visiting the farm.

Palawan has landed on the second spot of Travel+Leisure magazine’s “Top 15 Islands in the World” list for 2019 [5]. Readers of the travel magazine gave Palawan a score of 90.87% or higher from last year’s 90.04% when it ranked sixth. Travel+Leisure attributed this feat to the province’s “top-notch reef and wreck diving, white-sand beaches, hiking trails with waterfalls and welcoming locals,” and five-star accommodations. Recently, Palawan grabbed the eight place in travel website Lonely Planet’s 2019 list of the 10 best places to visit in the Asia Pacific. The provincial government said its tourism office will “work harder” to claim the top spot next year.

A proposed ordinance seeks to require Puerto Princesa City’s 66 barangays to hold an intensified monthly cleanup drive [6]. This is to remove the breeding sites of dengue-carrying mosquitoes. Policy author Councilor Henry Gadiano said the cleanup should target the clogged canals, esteros, and waterways. Gadiano also said stagnant water-collecting receptacles like old tires, plastic containers, and tin cans should be eliminated as well. Under the proposed ordinance, barangays can request funds from the city government for the activity. The city government will also provide equipment to barangays which they could lease out to private individuals for a fee to generate extra income.

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