THE Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (PENRO) is prepared to file charges against erring establishments found discharging their waste water down rivers and creeks and unto the sea.

This was revealed by Raymundo Gayo, provincial environment and natural officer in Pangasinan, who said that it is already doing in Alaminos City, Bolinao and San Fabian and soon in other coastal areas of Pangasinan.

He said his office already issued notices of violations to some establishments and is awaiting their answers. In case they do not reply, PENRO lawyers will order the dismantling of the erring establishments.

Gayo estimated that there are more than 800 violators of environmental laws all over Pangasinan.

He said PENRO is also prepared to order the closure of establishments found directly draining their effluents to the rivers and the sea.

He said the Community Environment and Natural Resources Alaminos City already initiated the  project Lakas Para sa Paglilinis sa Alaminos River with a walk last February 20.

The walk was participated in by officials and employees of LGU Alaminos, students of different schools, barangay officials as well as those from the Environmental Management Bureau.

“The Alaminos River became our focal river because samples of water there, based on laboratory analysis, showed it has high coliform count of 1,800, way above the normal count of 200,” he said.

The walk, Gayo said, was held in order to drum up multi-sectoral support for the clean-up of the Alaminos Rive and reduce the coliform count of the water therein to 200.

Gayo said in all other areas, PENRO has an existing program called Water Life that seeks to award LGUs that did well in cleaning their respective rivers based on results of laboratory findings.

At the same time, Gayo said tourists going to the San Fabian beach no longer park their vehicles by the beach even after the steel barricades were removed. (Leonardo Micua)

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