August 30, 2022
THE four floating cottages that have been anchored off the coast of Barangay Poblacion in Talisay City for a month are not open to the public.
Not yet, anyway.
These are owned by George Aznar, who operates Aznar Beach Resort in the barangay.
Aznar said they use the floating cottages to entertain family and guests. Sometimes they allow friends to use the cottages for free, he said.
The cottages are 30 seconds from the shore by motorbanca.
Each one has a bathroom with a septic tank.
Those who need to answer the call of nature don’t have to go ashore to do their business, Aznar said.
“But if they want, we have a motorbanca on standby to take them to dry land to use the bathroom,” he said in Cebuano.
He said they are still securing the necessary permits so they can open the floating cottages to the public.
“We want everything to be aboveboard,” he said in Cebuano.
Aznar said they already met with barangay officials and showed them a video of what the floating cottages look inside.
He said they will also allow the cottages to be inspected.
“Once our floating cottages are operational, we will pay the necessary fees to the barangay, including fees for garbage collection and the environmental fee,” he said in Cebuano.
Aznar said their aim is to promote and improve the city’s tourism as well as help residents with their livelihood.
Aznar purchased one of the floating cottages in Cordova after their operation was temporarily suspended to facilitate the rehabilitation of the town’s coast and waters. The other three were built in Talisay, he said.
Vice Mayor Richard Francis Aznar, in an interview, said the City Government needs to regulate their operation following the controversy surrounding floating cottages in Cordova.
“The tourism office and the licensing office are already looking into the matter so we can avoid what happened in Cordova from happening here in Talisay,” the vice mayor said in Cebuano.
The unregulated establishment of floating and fixed cottages on and along Cordova’s coast was blamed for the high fecal coliform level (FCL) in the water.
The latest water quality check conducted by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) 7 revealed that the FCL had reached 2,400 most probable number (mpn) per 100 milliliters.
The standard FCL for coastal water to be considered safe for swimming and other similar recreational activities is 100 mpn per 100 milliliters, according to the DENR.
While Talisay City still doesn’t have an ordinance regarding floating cottages, the vice mayor advised future operators to go through usual channels to secure the necessary permits before the mayor will allow them to operate.
He urged barangays to regularly inspect floating cottages once these are operational. (BBT)