ILOILO City – When Boracay reopens, the island’s famous white-sand shores would be off-limits to parties, according to the Department of Tourism (DOT). “What we want is to maintain the serenity of the shoreline, which is really the centerpiece attraction of the island,” said Undersecretary Benito Bengzon Jr.
Boracay is set to reopen on Oct. 26 after six months of massive cleanup.
“Sa ngayon ang tinitignan namin is doon sa beach area lang (Currently, we are looking at restricting party activities in the beach area),” he told reporters, clarifying parties and events within tourism establishments may still be allowed.
One of the prominent Boracay parties is the annual “LaBoracay” during Labor Day. It attracts thousands of local and foreign tourists every May.
The island resort, known for its powdery-white sand shores, will have a dry-run of the opening for locals from Oct. 15 to 25 prior to its official reopening, said Bengzon.
Also, the government’s inter-agency rehabilitation group, composed of the DOT, Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), plans to limit the number of tourists entering Boracay.
Asked if figures were already set, Bengzon said he would defer to the DENR.
“The arrangement is that it is only the DENR that can come up with the figures of the carrying capacity,” he said. “The idea is, considering the problems we’ve experienced in Boracay, limit the number of visitors to the island. As to the number, I defer to the DENR.”
The government closed Boracay to tourists on April 26 to conduct unhampered rehabilitation projects in the island.
DOT Region 6 director Helen Catalbas said when Boracay reopens tourists should stay only in resorts and hotels adhering to government rules and regulations.
To guide tourists, DOT would be issuing weekly public advisories on compliant tourism establishments beginning next week.
The advisories would be released through mainstream media and social media, said Catalbas.
Only 71 of the 440 hotels and inns inspected in Boracay were fully-compliant so far, according to Undersecretary Epimaco Densing III of the DILG during the Senate’s Aug. 20 hearing on Boracay’s rehabilitation.
There were 2,384 tourism establishments in the famous tourist destination.
Catalbas said between 3,000 to 5,000 rooms may be available to accommodate tourists.
Only fully compliant establishments would be allowed to operate.
According to DOT undersecretary Arturo Boncato at the recent Senate hearing, “The strategy is for us to open quietly. There would be no major fanfare, no major event.”
“In fact we wanted just to have some sort of soft opening and the directive of our Secretary is to really phase, to do the opening in phases,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA) said it is on track with its commitment for the period of Boracay closure.
“TIEZA, as the infrastructure arm of the DOT, is fully committed to complete not only the short-term interventions but, more so, the long-term engineering solutions to the problems that beset Boracay,” TIEZA chief operating officer Pocholo Paragas said.
“Boracay’s problems did not happen overnight, but we are making sure to fast track the project implementation pursuant to the directive of the President,” he added.
During the island’s shutdown, TIEZA started building a temporary discharge pipe along Bulabog Beach to address the brown and blue pipes where illegal connections were made and in turn created the island’s cesspool image.
At the same time, TIEZA is also fast-tracking the implementation of the Boracay Drainage Project (Phase II).
The project, with a total allocation of P1.1 billion, is expected to be finished by the third quarter of 2019. (With a report from the Philippine News Agency/PN)
