Award-winning documentarist Atom Araullo travels to some of the country’s known tourist sites and takes a closer look at their current state today on Saving Paradise: The Atom Araullo Specials.
This year, the administration created an inter-agency task force to clean-up Manila Bay. Massive action is on the way but Manila Bay’s problems run deep. Surrounding the bay are 17 river systems that drain all their industrial wastes to the bay. Only almost 20 percent of all the residents of Manila are connected to proper sewerage systems. Manila Bay used to be beautiful and abundant, supporting a population defined by its relationship to the sea. But because of neglect, it is now a shadow of its former self. Atom goes from Manila Bay and heads further upstream to discover what it really takes to rehabilitate Manila Bay’s waters.
From Manila, he travels to the flagship rehabilitation project of the government: Boracay. Aside from being one of the most popular tourist destination sites in the country, it also boasts of having one of the best beaches in the world. After a six-month closure, Boracay is back to business and open to tourists again. Atom will uncover what has really changed in Boracay and what has not. He will journey into the heart of Boracay – its wetlands. Here, he learns that Boracay’s source of fresh water is also in need of dire attention.
Atom’s journey finally leads him to Coron, dubbed as the country’s final frontier and the next target of the government’s rehabilitation efforts. Here, he discovers the pristine island’s struggle dealing with a dirty problem: the island’s lack of proper solid waste treatment facilities. He joins a Tagbanua native on a boat across the limestone rocks to pick up tourists’ trash one plastic at a time. With Boracay and Manila Bay’s rehabilitation in full swing, will the rehabilitation blueprint of Coron be better?
What does it take to save paradise? Join Atom in this timely documentary, “Saving Paradise: The Atom Araullo Specials” at 4:30 p.m. on GMA-7.
