IT’S THE DAY after Labor Day, call it a hangover, usually there’s still a lot of stories in the newspapers about the “working class hero”, the poor, downtrodden and exploited salaried laborer or to use the favorite term of the so-called leftists and pseudo communists: the proletariat.
Moi would love to disappoint those expecting that kind of story, really it’s kind of boring unless you’re Renato Reyes or Sarah Elago. But then again these two are just that, extremely boring.
Let’s talk about something else, perhaps something magical…and what could be more interesting than “magic in Boracay.”
“Close your eyes and come with me to a world of pure magical imagination” …
Excerpts from the April 29 issue of Panay News:
‘WASTE OF TIME’
The daily removal of unwelcome green algae carpeting Boracay’s shores won’t do it, according to a marine biology expert at the University of the Philippines Visayas (UPV).
“It is a waste of time. If the cause of water pollution is not solved, the algae will keep on returning,” said Dr. Resurreccion Sadaba, professor at the Division of Biological Sciences, College of Arts & Sciences, University of the Philippines in the Visayas or UPV.
Each day since the start of Boracay’s closure on April 26 for six months of rehabilitation, workers tapped by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) gather green algae covering the island’s white-sand shores. The following morning, however, more algae are washed ashore.
The culprit, according to Sadaba, is the untreated wastewater being discharged into the sea surrounding Boracay.
Algae feed on this untreated wastewater from resorts and residences, said Sadaba, a marine biology expert who helped revive mangroves in Guimaras when the island province was hit by a massive oil spill in 2006.
He likened the daily effort to remove the algae in Boracay to “just treating the symptoms but not disease itself.”
“The disease is really the failure on wastewater treatment,” said Sadaba.
Centralized wastewater treatment could reduce if not eliminate the growth of green algae, said Sadaba.
The wastewater discharge problem did not come as a surprise to Sadaba who has studied the algae phenomenon in Boracay.
Centralized wastewater treatment could reduce if not eliminate the growth of green algae, said Sadaba.
The wastewater discharge problem did not come as a surprise to Sadaba who has studied the algae phenomenon in Boracay.
Sadaba dismissed the belief of the island’s residents and some stakeholders that green algae makes Boracay’s sand white or turn to white sand itself.
“That is not true. Algae have nothing to do with sand. Boracay’s white sand comes from coral reefs that produce silica. Algae do not produce silica,” he stressed. “Wrong gid ang belief nga mag-decompose ang algae ma-turn sa white sand. Ano ina, magic?”
The so-called experts who have been peddling this “fake news” are none other than the Boracay Foundation Inc.
Moi just hates to use the term “fake news” as it has been an abused word, preferred by the “devotees to the cult of the yellow ribbon.” A more proper term is figment of their imagination and that’s exactly what magic is, a figment of the imagination.
Boracay Foundation, Inc., a business industry association on the island, tried to play down the presence of algae in the island as seasonal.
This phenomenon had been observed by the locals even before Boracay became a prime destination flocked by tourists and crowded with development, it stressed.
“Scientifically, green algal bloom is linked to the high nutrient load of the water. Usually with calm and warm waters, coupled with intense light during summer, these green algae consume excess nutrients from the water and process it for their growth and reproduction. In fact this equates to their proliferation…The presence of these algae is nature’s way of balancing the problem of high nutrient content in the water,” read part of the brochure prepared by the foundation specifically made to address concerns over Boracay’s green algae.
Take note people, a business industry association composed mostly of resort owners and not a scientific research group. Upon checking their website, among its Board of Trustees, members and staff there is not a single mention or membership of any marine biologist/botanist, not even a consultant.
So where did they get the data for that statement? One can only surmise perhaps from Harry Potter or the Chronicles of Narnia.
And here comes another “magic man.” In a televised interview Malay mayor Ciceron Cawaling of which the island of Boracay falls under his jurisdiction said something like this: Let the green algae dry out for three to five days under the sun and it turns into Boracay’s world famous white sands.
Really, and Kris Aquino is a virgin born out of “immaculate conception” while Noynoy is God’s gift to the Philippines.
You people ravaged Boracay because of your greed, turning its waters into literally a cesspool. Now you want to wriggle your way out of it by spinning this fantastic tale of “magical green algae” turning into “white sand.” (brotherlouie16@gmail.com/PN)
