El Nido is facing a severe ecological crisis. Despite its global reputation as one of the world’s premier tropical destinations, the town is grappling with the worsening pollution of its groundwater, its primary water source, due to decades of environmental neglect and poor urban planning.
In 2022, the health department’s regional office recorded some 567 cases of diarrhea and water – borne diseases among tourists.
Narratives of people falling ill after drinking the water in El Nido abound on social media. The casualties include both local and visitors, the latest of which was singer Celeste Legazpi whose account posted on her FB page went viral.
An AI-assisted compilation of online reviews on El Nido between 2019 to 2024, primarily from TripAdvisor and similar social media sites, came up with at least 674 water-related health complaints.
At the heart of the problem is the town’s critical failure in septage management.
According to Palawan Water, the provincial agency overseeing El Nido’s Sewage and Septage Treatment Plant (SSTP), a staggering 95 percent of the town’s over 700 residential households lack properly constructed septic tanks. Most rely on septic tanks with bottomless pits which allow wastewater to seep directly into the groundwater and, ultimately, to the sea.
Decades of laissez faire urban planning and weak enforcement have already poisoned El Nido’s underground water table, threatening a P35 billion local tourism industry that thrives on the environmental integrity of its picturesque natural resources.
The current situation has prompted several local government agencies last week to propose a Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) – sanctioned temporary closure of El Nido from tourism activities in order to pave way for a robust rehabilitation campaign.
Unlike Boracay, which faced a similar environmental crisis in 2018, El Nido has not seen the decisive action needed to address its challenges. In 2018, then-President Rodrigo Duterte labeled Boracay a cesspool and ordered its six-month closure to facilitate a massive environmental overhaul. The intervention included stringent sewage management reforms, strict enforcement of coastal easement policies, and even a smoking ban across the island.
While Boracay’s closure caused short-term economic displacement, the island emerged stronger, with improved environmental standards and a revitalized tourism industry.
El Nido, however, has not followed suit. Despite early warnings from the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development (PCSD) as far back as 2007, the municipality has failed to address its systemic septage management issues.
The PCSDs ECAN Monitoring and Evaluation Division (EMED) has reported a consistent increase in the concentration of total and fecal coliformin El Nidos water sources, a trend that only briefly abated during the COVID-19 pandemic when tourism activities ground to a halt. The Department of Health (DOH) corroborated these findings in 2022, conducting random water quality tests at water refilling stations, distributors, and tourism accommodations, which confirmed widespread contamination.
Pollution index
Engr. Michelle Cardenas, a local water management expert, highlighted the severity of the issue in an interview with Palawan News.
“El Nido is currently facing a critical shortage of water supply due to the absence of sustainable freshwater sources. The municipality has no reliable river systems or viable groundwater reserves that can support the growing needs of its residents, establishments, and tourists”, Cardenas said.
The Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) has consistently documented high levels of coliform bacteria in El Nidos coastal waters from 2019 to 2024. The Palawan Council for Sustainable Development (PCSD) as early as 2011 pointed out that the groundwater in Poblacion, El Nido’s main population center, was already contaminated with fecal coliform levels exceeding DOH standards for potable water.
Government monitoring from 2019 to 2023 has shown consistently elevated counts, exceeding the safe recreational threshold of 100 MPN per 100 mL, particularly in the town center. Some of the permanent monitoring sites recorded values as high as 920,000 MPN/100 mL in March 2022.
Too little, too late
On the ground efforts to address El Nido’s water crisis have been slow and insufficient. It was only in 2022 that El Nido was able to fully operate a comprehensive infrastructure capable of processing the town’s septage and sewage, including solid waste. The facility, operated by the provincial government’s Palawan Water, is currently on a campaign to get at least all of the town’s commercial establishments to connect to its facility.
It remains a tall order for the agency, just considering the miniscule number of households currently connected to it. In 2023, the municipality initiated a P9.5 million project to construct an estero canal in a densely populated area, connecting approximately 100 households to the Sewage and Septage Treatment Plant (SSTP), which began operations in 2021. This, however, leaves a significant gap, with 600 households still unconnected and contributing to ongoing pollution.
Of the 730 registered businesses in El Nido, only 411 are currently linked to the SSTP, and nearly 200 have not even applied for connection, despite a municipal ordinance mandating compliance.
In a nutshell, only about 40 percent of El Nidos wastewater is treated. The rest is left to continue contaminating the water table and the coastal marine environment.
The operation of El Nido’s SSTP facility, notable in design and concept, had been utilized by the DENR to the hilt, even recognizing the town as a finalist in its annual awards for best practice in waste management. This, despite El Nido’s worsened water crisis.
Waste treament facility
In 2021, El Nido was finally able to open its Sewage and Solid Waste Treatment Plant (SSWTP) located in Barangay Villa Libertad. The facility is designed to address the town’s waste disposal challenges. Its design was even hailed by the DENR as a model, owing to its capability to process not just septage waste but solid waste as well. The P490-million facility was a joint project of the provincial government and the municipality, both of which raised their respective counterparts through soft loans.
The facility is designed to process as much as 2,400 cubic meters of wastewater from households and establishments that can connect to its collector tanks strategically constructed around thh town. It can also handle 20 metric tons of biodegrable solid waste daily and even convert this into power.
The cost of connecting to the SSTP is relatively affordable, at P298 per month for households and P490 per room per month for commercial establishments, such as hotels, compared to Boracays P1,200 per room. Compliance, however, remains low.
To address El Nidos water crisis, Cardenas proposed a solution to harness seawater through a Reverse Osmosis (RO) desalination system that can provide a reliable source of potable water to the town. Implementing an RO system would require significant investment while promising a long-term solution.
Local reactions
Leonides Echague, former president of the El Nido Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ENCCI), warned of the devastating impact a potential shutdown could have on compliant businesses and vulnerable communities.
“Every time theres news like this, the business community gets alarmed because we see the significant impact, like what happened in Boracay”, he said. “Its not just El Nido thats affected, but the whole of Palawan, because various towns supply El Nido’s needs.”
The provincial government, under a new administration headed by former San Vicente mayor Amy Alvarez, is expected to weigh in on the proposed temporary closure of El Nido in the coming days. During her oath-taking on Monday, June 30, Alvarez said she has yet to receive the recommendation for a closure of El Nido, but vowed to exert efforts to help El Nido cope with its challenges.”
“Wala pang nagsabi sa akin. Narinig ko na yun pero ang DENR hindi pa naglapit sa akin so we will know by tomorrow kung maglapit na sila sa akin talaga. Of course mag-help talaga tayo kung hindi kaya ng LGU, mag-help si province. Kailangan kasi ma-connect lahat sa STP,” she told Palawan News.
Meanwhile, El Nido Mayor Edna Lim said that while they are undertaking “continuous rehabilitation” efforts to address the problem, they need external help.
“Ako po ay humihingi ng tulong, ito ay isang panawagan ng lokal na pamahalaan ng El Nido, na ito ay hindi makakaya ng bayan ng El Nido as a tourism destination yung problema sa drinking water. Sana hindi lang provincial goverent kundi maging ng national government, yung ating mga congressman na sana ay tulungan ang bayan ng El Nido,” she said.
She added that they have not received any proposal to close El Nido temporarily.
She indicated favoring the closure of “non-compliant” establishments instead of the entire town.
“Pag nasara ang El Nido, parang nasara na rin ang lalawigan ng Palawan. Yan po ang totoo kasi alam naman ng lahat na ang mga turista ng El Nido ay dumadaan sa Puerto Princesa. So siguro mag-recommend kami na doon sa non-compliant at portion lang ng El Nido na nakikita ng DENR at EMB kung saan mataas ang coliform,” she said.
She stated that there is no formal order yet from any national or inter-agency body to close El Nido. She made clear they have not received any notice about a shutdown despite concerns raised about the town’s water and environmental problems.
Mayor Lim also said the local government is continuing its rehabilitation work. This includes building cluster tanks for the sewage treatment plant to serve households, especially in the poblacion barangays where many residents and businesses are located.
“As of now, wala pa kaming natatangap na pormal na nanggaling sa mga inter-agencies, national agencies na ang El Nido ay isasara, she said.
“Ang lokal na pamahalaan ay tuloy-tuloy ang ginagawang rehabilitation at yung mga construction ng cluster tanks ng STP para sa bawat households lalo na para sa poblacion barangays,” she added.
“Malapit nang matapos yung sa Barangay Buena Suerte at isusunod na yung para sa iba pa. At merontl na ring pondo para sa outfall, yung sa mga kanal na nanggaling sa Maligaya at Buenasuerte na dumidiretso sa dagat,” she said. (with reports from Gerald Ticke)
