BORACAY ISLAND - Illegally connected sewers and pipelines discharging waste to inland streams were excavated in Barangay Balabag here Saturday, as the government moved to solve the island's pollution problem.

"Nagulat ako kasi gumawa sila ng sarili nilang discharge pipes at lumalabas sa isang private lagoon na wala ring permit sa province," said Aklan Governor Florencio Miraflores.

(We were surprised to see that they constructed their own pipelines and discharged their waste in a private lagoon that had no permit from the government.)

Authorities clogged the pipelines to stop the flow of polluted water, but they have yet to identify all establishments that connected their pipes to the illegal sewer, Miraflor said.

The provincial government will consolidate data gathered from excavation projects to identify resorts that will be held liable for illegally tapping into pipelines intended to catch rainwater.

Authorities moved to clean Boracay after President Rodrigo Duterte in February warned that he would shut down the island, saying pollution had turned it into a "cesspool."

• Duterte slams Boracay as ‘cesspool,’ threatens to shut down island
• Boracay resorts given 2 months to clean up 'cesspool' island