The Philippines has announced its best-known holiday island Boracay will be closed to tourists for six months over concerns that the once idyllic white-sand resort has become a “cesspool” tainted by dumped sewage. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the shutdown to start April 26. / AFP PHOTO
(Eagle News) — Malacañang said that the total closure of Boracay for a maximum period of six months was the only way to save the island from further damage, even as an official of the Department of Interior and Local Government said a “soft opening” of the island was possible in three or four months under certain conditions.
The move to close down Boracay was a “drastic police measure” that needed to be done, said Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque, Jr. during his press briefing at the Savoy Hotel in Boracay, Aklan, nine days before the expected shutdown.
He said that the six month closure of the island starting this April 26 “aims to preserve the island’s pristine state for the benefit of future generations.”
“It was the only way to do it. It’s a drastic police measure intended to protect the environment. We wanted to see if we could delay it any further, but apparently, the water quality in Boracay necessitated that the closure be done sooner than later,” he said.
The Spokesperson was accompanied by Department of Tourism (DOT) Undersecretary Katherine de Castro, DOT Assistant Secretary Frederick Alegre, and Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Assistant Secretary Epimaco Densing III, who provided updates on the recently held “Save Boracay” Working Conference.
The Philippines is set to deploy hundreds of riot police to top holiday island Boracay to keep travellers out and head off potential protests ahead of its six-month closure to tourists, the government said April 17. / AFP PHOTO / STR
Roque made clear that the President’s decision was not done in haste. He said the President gave his Cabinet members a period of six months to come up with their recommendations on the island’s possible closure.
Within two months, at least two agencies, already recommended the total shutdown, Roque said.
The President’s Spokesperson also stressed that the administration’s move to rehabilitate Boracay was primarily for the benefit of the locals in the island.
“What the President is trying to underscore is much of Boracay is state-owned, and it should therefore be for the benefit of all Filipinos and not just a few. Definitely, he favors the ordinary Filipinos to benefit from Boracay, and not just the resort owners,” he said.
Roque then assured the public that the government has undertaken various steps to provide alternative work for the displaced workers.
According to DILG Asec. Densing, Boracay’s soft opening could possibly be done in just three to four months, shorter than the six-month approved proposal, provided that certain environmental and other parameters are met.
He said that before a soft opening, these criteria should have been met: the water discharge for the whole of July should be within the standards of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, and Boracay’s sanitary landfill should have zero garbage by the end of the month.
“This is not official because we’ve not elevated this to the level of the Secretary yet for discussion and approval. But maybe it’s okay to disclose so that everybody would know the milestones we have to met to be able to open the island ahead of the six-month period,” Densing disclosed.
By the end of July, the government also targets to dismantle all establishments which have violated the 30-meter shoreline easement rule. It also hopes to recover at least three of the five wetlands which had been found to have illegal structures.
Aside from this, the government aims to complete at least 70 percent of the road widening project in the area. (with a PND report)
