Exec admits not disclosing vital report

CEBU — A top environment official in the region admitted the other day that his office kept vital information about the high coliform content in the waters off Barangay Marigondon to save local tourism.

Allan Aranquez, regional director of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, told participants of the first joint legislative-executive planning conference on the Ecological Waste Management Act of 2000 that the department conducted tests on the sea waters off Mactan last year and discovered a high coliform content.

Coliform is a disease-causing bacteria found in human and animal intestines.

The DENR tests on local beaches came after it was reported that the beaches of Boracay were found to be high in coliform content and tourists were warned to take necessary precautions.

"In fact, during the Boracay incident, to be frank, we really decided not to come out with the derogatory findings. Our findings revealed that the Marigondon area had a problem similar to Boracay," Aranquez