Out of the 35 sampling stations within the municipality of Puerto Galera, Oriental Mindoro and it’s barangays, only nine sampling stations have met the criteria for the agency’s water quality guidelines.
Department of Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco meanwhile said Puerto Galera is projected to lose around P5.3 million daily should it be shut for tourism, after authorities deemed many of its water sites unsafe for swimming activities.
Undersecretary for Policy, Planning, and International Affairs Jonas Leones identified those areas that passed DENR Administrative Order 2016-08 or the Water Quality Guidelines and General Effluent Standards of 2016 as Small Lalaguna and Big Lalaguna shoreline, Balete, Central Sabang shoreline, Coco Beach, Batangas Channel, Paniquian, Balatero, and West San Isidro Bay.
Citing the Department of Health, he said potable water must not have detectable levels of contaminants beyond the standards. He said exposure to such contaminants could cause rashes and blisters. “Do not touch the water,” he said.
Oils and grease may also result in aspiration leading to respiratory diseases, while ingestion would cause gastrointestinal irritations which may manifest acutely abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.
The Department of Health advised the public to exercise caution and refrain from consuming water from affected areas when conducting water-related occupational and recreational activities, Leonen said. The consumption of contaminated various fish, shellfish and other seafood products is prohibited.
He said the local government, along with the DENR, is studying if the water contaminants are caused by the oil spill. On Feb, 28, MT Princess Empress carrying 900,00 liters of industrial fuel oil sank off Naujan, Oriental Mindoro, causing an oil spill.
Over the weekend, Oriental Mindoro Governor Bonz Dolor said that Puerto Galera and its nearby areas failed 4 consecutive water tests. After his statement, hundreds of tourists have already canceled their bookings and activities in Puerto Galera, ABS-CBN News reported.
But Frasco said the “most important” thing right now for her agency is to ensure that the tourism in the town will continue and will become sustainable.
“Our perception of this joint statement is that Puerto Galera tourism continues to be open, and there is no direct attribution in terms of the direct source of the findings considering the presence of human and economic activities in Puerto Galera,” Frasco, quote by ABS-CBNS News, said.
“According to statistics as well, there is projected loss of no less than P5.3 million a day,” she added.
“We have all seen the devastation that can be caused by a tourism destination being shut down.”
As of Tuesday, Puerto Galera is not among the towns affected by the oil spill, the report from the disaster response agency showed. Frasco said Oriental Mindoro had already recorded P900 million in losses because of the ecological disaster
Around 11,000 tourism workers there depend in the industry there, she noted.
The town, she said, is considered the top destination in Oriental Mindoro as it contributes 85 percent of the tourism economy in the province. As of last year, the town had raked in some P500 million in tourism receipts, she said.
“The report indicating no direct link to the oil spill is something we welcome positively,” she added.
More than 178,000 people—or 37,871 families—have been affected by the spill more than a month since sinking of the ill-fated oil tanker in the Tablas Strait.