By Emmanuel T. Erediano
Variety News Staff

AN environmental health inspector says he will “check” on the complaints about the Garapan drainage stench.
Francisco Kaipat, assistant to the environmental health office of the Department of Public Health’s Bureau of Environmental Health, said he doubts the drainage system in the area is “the problem that has been driving the tourists away.”
He said whoever complained about the stench should have either written them a formal letter or have come to see them.
According to Kaipat, it is the environmental health bureau’s job to inspect and identify problems involving the drainage system, but different government agencies also have responsibilities in the matter.
Still, he added, the bureau can come up with a recommendation to solve the problem.
Restaurant owners in the Paseo De Marianas area say they are losing potential customers, mostly tourists, due to what they describe as a “disturbing stench” they believe is coming from the drainage system.
They said they have heard from tourists complaining about the stench.
There is stagnant and dark water in the area’s drainage ditch.
Mizako Kamata, owner of Kinpachi Restaurant, said they have been trying to cope with the problem for a long time now.
She said they informed government authorities about it but nothing has been done to address the problem.
Kaipat, in an interview yesterday, said they encountered the same problem in the same place about 10 years ago.
He recalled that their men had to go down to the drainage to fix it.
Now, he said, it seems the same problem is occuring again.
He said they could have gotten rid of this problem earlier had the people in the area reported the matter to them.
According to Kaipat, the bureau can ask other government agencies to help solve the problem.
He promised to meet with other environmental health officers to discuss possible solutions.