ILOILO City – Less than 200 tourism establishments in Boracay were so far able to meet the requirements set by the government’s interagency rehabilitation task force overseeing the cleanup of the popular island resort.
“As of June 15 only 153 (tourism establishments) were able to comply,” said Director Helen Catalbas of the Department of Tourism (DOT) Region 6.
One of these requirements was the provision of sewerage system.
Catalbas said there were a total of 2,269 tourism establishments in Boracay.
Only compliant establishments would be allowed to resume their operation when Boracay reopens. This was the collective position of the Boracay Stakeholders Core Group during a recent meeting with DOT undersecretary Arturo Boncato.
The meeting gathered collective plans of the core group in terms of compliance, accreditation, trainings, and promotions and marketing.
The agreement would be presented to DOT secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat and members of the interagency task force for consideration.
The government shut down Boracay for six months of rehabilitation beginning April 26.
Boncato emphasized the “no compliance, no accreditation” policy based on DOT standards.
“I believe we all had an understanding that each sector shall police its own ranks by making sure members abide by the rules and regulations to operate. Boracay stakeholders heartily accepted their shortcomings and are doing their best to be compliant,” said Catalbas.
The core group also suggested for regulatory bodies to expedite the processing of permits and clearances.
Catalbas said this should take into consideration the “carrying capacity” of the island, which the Department of Environment and Natural Resources is yet to release.
In ecology, “carrying capacity” refers to the population that can be supported in a given area within natural resource limits, and without degrading the natural social, cultural and economic environment for present and future generations.
The core group hoped that by the end of August, 70 percent or 1,700 establishments (all sectors) should have been compliant so DOT’s accreditation campaign could start by the first week of September.
This month, DOT would also conduct trainings (on effective customer service experience; language; tourism awareness) for Boracay frontliners such as boatmen, porters, tricycle drivers, and vendors.
“We will make sure Boracay is ready with its services and facilities before reopening. We have the support of our stakeholders and with that we are assured that a better, cleaner and environment-friendly Boracay Island will welcome us soon,” said Catalbas.
More than two months after its closure and ongoing rehabilitation, the quality of water, particularly at the long beach of Boracay was now within the standards, according to the Community Environment and Natural Resources Officer (CENRO) for Boracay, lawyer Richard Fabila, last week.
Fabila said the fecal coliform concentration level of the water already decreased.
“Before (the closure), it was really failing. It was unsafe. But now based on statistics and laboratory tests conducted by the EMB (Environmental Management Bureau), it already passed (the standards),” he said.
Teams from EMB were conducting daily and weekly analysis of the water quality on the island in the various testing sites of the long beach. (With reports from the Department of Tourism 6 and Philippine News Agency/PN)
