This Week in Palawan (August 24 to 30, 2019)

Establishments in Palawan are doing their part to help preserve the island's marine wildlife.

By: Keith Anthony S. Fabro | August 24, 2019

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There are plenty of reasons to visit Palawan this week despite the gloomy weather. For one, the national government has decided to keep El Nido open to tourists. As part of the continuing rehabilitation in the popular tourist destination, environmental authorities issued stop operation orders to tourist establishments found discharging their untreated wastewater into the bay. The same initiative had been done in Coron. While there are erring tourist establishments, there are also some who go against the tide by integrating eco-friendly practices like eliminating plastic straws to save marine life. For an update on transportation, the provincial board aims for safer roads with the passage of speed limit ordinance for all towns. Read on for more details!

Weather: Cloudy skies with showers, thunderstorms

Cloudy skies bringing showers and thunderstorms can be expected throughout the week, [1]. During these days, you would need an umbrella when you go out as the chance of seeing rain showers is moderate. For real-time weather updates, you may visit the DOST-PAGASA website.

Although it’s already rainy season, expect the week to be warm to hot, with day and night temperature ranging from 28°C to 29°C and 27°C to 27.2°C respectively. The best way to combat the heat is by wearing light-colored, thin fabrics, and also by drinking lots of waters and watery fruits to keep you hydrated.

Traffic News: Palawan board wants halt on road crashes

To make Palawan roads safer for everyone, provincial board member Ryan Maminta has passed a resolution urging the municipal government units to enact their own ordinance that enforces the speed limit policy [2]. Maminta’s call came in the wake of several deadly road accidents that happened recently along the province’s national highway.

Maminta said this is in compliance to the Joint Memorandum Circular No. 2018-001 of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG). He also said the circular has provided guidelines that can be adopted by the municipal governments. More than institutionalizing the municipal ordinance, the board member has urged the towns to take the implementation seriously by hiring enforcers and putting up speed limit signage.

Travel Updates

El Nido remains open; swimming ban in some areas up

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ (DENR) interagency task force has continued its inspection activities in El Nido to identify and penalize non-compliant tourism businesses [3]. This came after the national government had decided not to close down the town, despite the earlier recommendation of the DILG. In an interagency meeting, the national government resolved to continue instead the rehabilitation it started more than six months ago in the popular tourist town.

Relatedly, the DENR has imposed a swimming ban in certain areas where outfalls drain untreated wastewater into Bacuit Bay. These areas found to have poor water quality due to high fecal coliform levels were Corong-corong, Cabugao, Masagana, and El Nido Estero. The DENR, meanwhile, encourages the public to swim instead in lagoons and island beaches, which are safer than the coastal waters in the town proper.

Erring hotels in El Nido, Coron get cease and desist order

Ten tourism accommodation businesses in El Nido and Coron were slapped with cease and desist orders (CDOs) after violating the Philippines’ Clean Water Act [4]. The CDOs issued by the DENR earlier this month will effectively stop the operation of these accommodations discovered releasing wastewater that contributed to the deteriorating quality of the Bacuit and Coron Bays in the said towns.

In El Nido, CDO recipients were Viewdeck Cottages, Lagun Hotel, Spin Designer Hotel, La Casa Teresa Tourist Inn, and Mansion Buenavista Guest House. In Coron, recipients included Busuanga Sea Dive Resort, Sophia’s Garden Resort, and Pearl Vista de Coron Resort. Environment authorities posted a notice on each establishment informing the public of its violation. They also sealed all the establishments’ water lines to prevent them from releasing wastewater.

Palawan business establishments vow to ditch plastic straws

Some 31 hotels and restaurant owners in Palawan have pledged to remove plastic straws in their establishments to help protect marine wildlife like sea turtles [5]. To formalize this, they recently inked a memorandum of agreement with the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development (PCSD) and JCI Puerto Princesa Peacock Inc. (JCIPPI) that implement the “Skip the Straw, Save a Turtle” campaign which was launched in 2017. Establishments, meanwhile, are encouraged to provide eco-friendly alternatives like bamboo straws. “We are urging all establishments in Puerto Princesa City and in the Province of Palawan to join the cause to totally eliminate plastic straws,” PCSD spokesperson Jovic Fabello added.