MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte was satisfied with the result of the six-month rehabilitation of Boracay Island, according to Malacañang.
Duterte “is pleased with what has happened in Boracay,” Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo said in a statement.
Citing its polluted waters due to the mismanagement of the sewage system, the President previously called Boracay a “cesspool.”
“Boracay is a lesson of political will, as exhibited by [Duterte], and yet it is also a lesson of neglect, misfeasance and malfeasance by responsible persons in office,” Panelo said.
Known for the powdery white sand on its beaches, Boracay – the Philippines’ most popular tourist destination – reopened on Friday after a six-month rehabilitation that started April 26.
“The cesspool that was Boracay would not have happened if political will was exhibited by those in authority and if only officials of the island paradise, as well as the stakeholders, operated following the law and the rules and regulations of pertinent government agencies,” said Panelo.
The multiagency Boracay Inter-Agency Task Force, in charge of the rehabilitation, vowed to strengthen the implementation of environmental ordinances in the island.
“It has to take the strong and decisive leadership of the President to put things in order, and we should all learn from these lessons so that Boracay will become an attraction, not only in this country but in the world,” Panelo said.
“We commend the different departments for the evolution and development of Boracay, as well as the patience and cooperation of everyone,” he added. (PNA)
