MALAY, Aklan – The head of the agency tasked to rehabilitate the Boracay Island – recognized as the “Best Island in Asia” by Conde Nast Traveler in its 2019 Readers’ Choice Awards – lauded the close cooperation of relevant parties and local folks in supporting the move of President Rodrigo Duterte to “save the island from environmental disaster.”
“This is very inspiring and serves as encouragement for all of us to continue the rehabilitation works that we are doing for the island,” said Natividad Bernardino, general manager of the Boracay Inter-Agency Management and Rehabilitation Group on Wednesday.
“It is actually an indirect recognition of all our efforts for the good of the island,” she added.
It can be recalled that the island reopened to visitors on October last year after a six-month rehabilitation following Duterte’s declaration that the island has become a cesspool due to violations of environmental laws.
“I would like to particularly emphasize that the people of Boracay have contributed a lot for this award because if they did not support us in our efforts, the government will certainly fail,” Bernardino said.
She also appealed to double the efforts “so all reviews can make Boracay number one not only in Asia but also around the world.”
The award giving body, Conde Nast Traveler, which has won 25 national magazine awards, is a luxury and lifestyle travel magazine published by Condé Nast. It revealed the results from its 32nd annual Readers’ Choice Awards survey recently, with a record 600,000 voters weighing in on their favorite hotels, resorts and destinations around the globe.
With Boracay Island on top, two other Philippine destinations – Cebu and Visayas islands came in 2nd, while Puerto Princesa in Palawan ranked 4th.
Meanwhile, Penang of Malaysia ranked 3rd while the popular Bali in Indonesia took the 5th and last place for the survey.
This year, the travel magazine opted to name the best islands according to region – Asia, Australia and the South Pacific, Caribbean and the Atlantic, Europe, North America, Africa and the Indian Ocean – instead of coming out with a single list.
“This particular award clearly demonstrates our hard work and dedication. I’m glad to see that with the concerted efforts from related organizations in the island along with the government plus the cooperation of relevant parties, we are now enjoying a significant improvement here,” Bernardino said.
She added the Boracay Inter-Agency Task Force is now working double time to beat Duterte’s deadline on April 2020.
“So far, I can say that we are now 70-percent finished and the remaining 30 percent is just the road improvement and drainage rehabilitation work that are being facilitated by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH),” Bernardino said.
Now on its Phase 2, DPWH is expected to finish the road construction by December before it commences with its Phase 3 development works or the construction of circumferential road going to Mount Luho – Boracay’s highest peak where you can get a 360-degrees panoramic view of the island.
According to Bernardino, the drainage project is set to be completed in the middle of next year.
“I am sure that we can beat the deadline. I know for a fact that there is already a pending bill in Congress that hopes to establish the Boracay Island Development Authority that will sustain the rehabilitation of Boracay and make it a sustainable island destination,” she said.(With a report from Noel Cabobos/88.5FM Radyo Todo Aklan/PN)
