By Caesar Vallejos
Eagle News Service
While it will make most of them jobless, the looming closure of Boracay will give some the breather from work in this paradise island, one of the best in the world. With seemingly no choice given to them, having a respite from their daily grind becomes the only alternative, with many of them going back to their homes in the mainland.
A few though would fight it out to check what opportunities the shutdown will offer them.
The jobs of around 36,000 workers, both from the formal and informal sectors are affected if the shutdown starts on April 26.
Boracay generates about 56 billion pesos in tourism receipts every year.
These are some of the reactions of common workers.
Paddling for life
Stand up paddle instructors Rommel dela Cruz, 23 and Jaymar Gaytano, 21, are expecting to lose income ranging from P200 (USD4) to more than P2000 (USD40) per day, depending on the volume of tourists.
Both are members of the Association of Stand Up Paddle Boracay Incorporated.
“Parang boundary ng jeep sa Maynila ang paddle, ang boundary namin ay 400 pesos. Buti na lang sa akin ang paddle ko,” Gaytano said. [Paddle is like the jeepney in Manila. Paddle has a boundary fee of P400 a day. I am lucky that I have my own paddle.]
“Inaalerto na nila ang pag-aayos dito sa Boracay pero huli na,” Gaytano said. [Fixing Boracay is on alert level but it is too late.
Gaytano believes that the six-month period to solve the problems of Boracay is not enough.
“Hindi nila kaya, tulad ng D-Mall na eto, konting ulan lang, baha siya, kapag dalawang araw ang ulan, lalo na. Kita ninyo yung mga hukay, pinag-iisipan pa nila kung saan padadaanin yung tubig. Sa Laketown dati ang daanan ng tubig, hindi dito sa dagat,” the paddler said. [They cannot do it. At D-Mall, just a drizzle will cause flood, and if it rains in two days, it gets worse. You have seen the holes, they are thinking where to direct water. It used to go to Laketown, not directly to the beach.]
There are several diggings and overnight construction are currently ongoing at the inner streets of D’Mall and D’Palengke. Blue sacks temporarily cover the unsightly infrastructure development.
“Yung Laketown dati, malinis, walang basura. Yung mga nagtitinda, yun ang mga nagtatapon ng basura kaya lalong nagbara yung daanan ng tubig,” Gaytano added. [Laketown used to be clean, with no garbage. Those who were selling there throw garbage in it that is why the drainages were clogged.]
Both Gaytano and Dela Cruz heard from unconfirmed reports and sources that they needed to participate in a rally in Manila so that President Rodrigo Duterte may reconsider his position to close Boracay.
“Dapat umabot ng 1.5 million para mapansin ni Duterte. Kailangan maraming mag-participate sa rally sa Manila sa April 5 at 6,” Gaytano heard. [It has to reach 1.5 million to be noticed by Duterte. Many have to participate in the rally in Manila on April 5 and 6.]
If the rally is unsuccessful and Boracay will be closed for business, the SUP instructors will just go home.
“Wala na pong gagawin, balik na lang ako ng Batangas,” Gaytano said. “Balik sa Kalibo, Dela Cruz said before attending to an approaching tourist. [There is nothing to do, I will go back to Batangas, Gaytano said. Back to Kalibo, Dela Cruz said.]
Discouraged, affected
Kesha Temporaza who hails from Tangalan, Aklan has been working in bar-restaurants in Boracay for three years.
Currently employed in a resto and grill that specializes in modern Filipino cuisine in Station 2 in Boracay, Temporaza earns a minimum daily wage of P323 (US6.46).
“Pinanghihinaan kami ng loob kasi magsasara nga, affected po kasi,” Temporaza said. [We feel discouraged about the closure and we are affected.]
Asked what she would do if the closure takes place, Temporaza said, “pahinga na lang muna siguro. Doon na lang ako sa amin sa bahay. Wala pa akong naisip kong ano ang gagawin ko doon. Mahirap din kasi doon sa amin.” [Maybe I will just rest in our house. I don’t still know what to do there. Life is also hard in our place.]
However, Temporaza also contemplates on finding a part-time job and shall be back to the restaurant as soon as it will be opened again. “Kahit anong trabaho basta kaya ko.” [Any work will do as long as I can do it.]
Some of her acquaintances want to find opportunities in other places including Manila. “Mahirap din kasi na matagal kang mawawawalan ng trabaho. Ma-e-engganyo ka rin sa puweding i-offer ng iba.” [It’s hard to be jobless for a long time. And you will be attracted to what other establishments may offer you.]
While others are looking at leaving the island, Temporaza will always go back to Boracay for work. “Ako mas gusto kong bumalik sa Boracay kasi mas malapit sa lugar namin.” [For me, it’s better to go back to Boracay because it’s closer to home.]
Time to upgrade
Genesis Prado, 28, a driver hails from Buruanga, Aklan works in one of the island’s exclusive hillside enclaves.
“Selected lang kami na tuloy ang trabaho,” he said of the impending closure. [A select group will continue to work.]
He said that the resort management will use Boracay’s closure to upgrade its services that include repair of its car fleet’s air conditioning systems.
As a driver, Prado said that road-widening is currently being done. He indicated street parts with markings that needed up to 3 meters for widening.
“Yung iba, nag-se-self-demolish na,” he said. [Others are doing self-demolition.]
“Nakakahiya nga sa mga guests, para silang nagpa-patintero para makaiwas sa dami ng mga hukay sa kalsada,” Prado added. [It is embarrassing to guests that they have to play ‘patintero’ (Filipino traditional game that blocks players from passing) to avoid dug holes in roads.]
Holes and diggings are now dotting the main street of Boracay with sacks of soil and rock that encircle them for tourists to avoid them.
These canals were dug to check which pipes were illegally connected to them. Some establishments are not properly connected to the sewer system. Instead, they connected their pipes to the main canals that lead to the beach.
Pero malaki na ang ipinagbago ng Boracay, Yung Puka Beach, maganda na ngayon. Wala na yung mga illegal na kubo-kubo doon,” Prado said. [But there have been big changes in Boracay these days. Puka Beach, for example, is now beautiful. Gone were the illegal nipa hut structures there.]
Not everything though is negative. Prado said that his clients told him, “we will be back in maybe the next two years, it’s going to be more exciting as we want to see what has changed in Boracay.”
Back to fishing
Tour guide Marvin Salazar, 24, is from Tablas Island in Romblon.
He is expecting to lose P500 to P1,000 pesos per day for his tour guide services which he has been doing for about a decade.
“Balik na lang sa pangingisda,” he said of his plans. “Kaya lang sa kikitain mong P100 sa pangingisda, pambili na lang ng bigas at ulam, wala ng pambili ng gatas,” Salazar said. He has a 4-month old child. [I will go back to fishing. However, the P100 peso income from fishing is just enough for rice and viand, not enough for milk.]
“Okay lang sa mga foreigners na magsara ang Boracay, pero sa mga taga-rito, marami ang magugutom,” he said. [It’s okay for foreigners to close Boracay but for people who live here will be hungry.]
He may leave Boracay on May 1.
The habal-habal guy
Habal-Habal, a motorbike with driver for rent, is one of the most common modes of transportation in Boracay.
Richard Jurario, 26, drives his friend’s habal-habal. With a total income of P1,000 pesos, he pays the boundary fee of P200 and spends gasoline worth P200. Thus, he expects to lose P600 a day for habal-habal driving if Boracay will be closed.
Jurario will go back to Roxas who used to deliver Nestle products there. “Madaling kumita ng pera doon pero hindi ako nakakaipon,” he said. [It’s easy to earn money (in Roxas) but I am unable to save there.]
While he intends to return to Boracay, habal-habal’s future in Boracay is also uncertain.
Jurario heard that authorities recommend the battery-operated e-tricyles or e-trikes and may phase out gasoline-run vehicles, and even hotels may implement this.
Job hunt for a hat vendor
Walang problema sa mga turista na mag-rehab ang Boracay dahil may pera sila, puwede silang pumunta kahit saan. Kaya hindi okay sa amin ang pagsasara kasi dito kami umaasa,” Abdillah Ibrahim said. [Because tourists have money, they have no problem with the Boracay closure. They can go to any place they want. But not to us whose livelihood are dependent on it.]
Ibrahim is from Lanao del Sur in Mindanao. “Ayokong umuwi sa amin, magulo at may martial law doon at walang kasiguraduhan ang trabaho,” he said. [I don’t want to go home, it’s chaotic there, there is Martial Law and jobs are not certain.]
“Tutal may rehabilitation dito kapag nagsara, puwede akong mag-construction worker. Hangga’t kaya ko, makikipagsapalaran ako,” Ibrahim said. [Since there will be rehabilitation if it closes, I can apply as a construction worker. As long as I can, I will take my chance.]