PTA gears for P90-M Boracay sewerage system expansion
BY BOY RYAN B. ZABAL/Manila Times

BORACAY – The Philippine Tourism Authority (PTA) is setting up necessary infrastructures to spur tourism and preserve the natural environment of the country’s premier tourist destination.
Aklan Rep. Florencio Miraflores said the PTA’s P90-million expansion of the centralized water supply and sewerage system in Boracay Island will improve the facilities for commercial establishments and residential consumers.
“The PTA considers the island one of their priority development areas. The expansion of the sewerage project further bolsters the position of the island as one of the best tropical beaches in the world,” he said.
The PTA finished two components of the P800-million Boracay Environmental Infrastructure Project (BEIP) through the 19th Yen Package from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation.
According to the Department of Health, prior to the implementation of the project in 1990, many water-borne infectious diseases including 153 cases of acute gastroenteritis were reported.
Since the completion of the project in 2003 there have been no reports related to such diseases.
The operation and maintenance of the sewerage system is conducted by the Boracay Waterworks and Sewerage System (BWSS), which was established in December 2001 as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the PTA.
“The expansion of BWSS services will accommodate commercial establishments availing of the centralized water and treatment plants connected with the PTA’s potable water supply,” Miraflores pointed out.
With the completion of the Boracay water supply system project, the PTA averted the depletion of the island’s scarce water resources by years of continuous digging of shallow wells to tap fresh water that resulted to seawater contamination of the groundwater.