The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) recently reaffirmed their requirement for establishments on currently-shuttered resort destination Boracay to set up sewage treatment plants.

In a press release, DENR Secretary Roy Cimatu spoke on the need to improve water quality on the island.

“The concentration of e-coliform in the water samples that were put to test in the early part of our rehabilitation efforts were too high,” he explained. “Millions of times beyond the standard.”

E-coliform, or E.coli, is a type of bacteria that can be contracted through contaminated water or food and can lead to kidney failure or death.

Cimatu went on to call sewage treatment plants “non-negotiable.”

“It is one of the primary requirements for the opening of Boracay,” he affirmed.

During a visit to Boracay earlier this year, Department of Public Works and Highways Secretary Mark Villar said, besides improved roadways, his agency plans to construct improved drainage and sewage systems.

Following a study conducted by the Boracay Inter-agency Task Force, a dry run for the island’s reopening will take place from October 15 to 25.

The formal reopening is scheduled for October 26./WDJ