MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte has approved the P25-billion Boracay Medium-Term Action Plan which aims to preserve, protect and further develop the world-famous island resort in Aklan province after its temporary closure last year. Within the six-month closure, a massive cleanup and rehabilitation of the island was effected.
Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said the plan covered four areas. These were the following:
* enforcement of laws, where there will be
intervention on the regulation of visitors and hotel accommodations
* prevention, where there will be intervention on the sewerage infrastructure,
solid and liquid waste management
* rehabilitation and recovery of ecosystems
4) sustainability of activities on the island such as improvement of roads and
public health infrastructure, construction of permanent housing program for
indigenous peoples, and education facilities
Duterte approved the action plan during Monday’s six-hour Cabinet meeting, said
Panelo.
Prior to Boracay’s temporary closure beginning April 26, 2018, Duterte dubbed the island a “cesspool”, citing its untreated wastewater and the mushrooming of illegal structures, among others.
But despite the half-a-year closure, tourism-related businesses in Boracay contributed 12.7 percent to the Philippine economy and created 5.4 million jobs, based on the data from the Department of Tourism.
SUSTAINING THE GAINS
What should be done so that the island resort can sustain the gains from its six months of rehabilitation?
“Be responsible tourists,” said Tourism secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat as she officially declared Boracay open to tourism activities once more on Oct. 26, 2018. “It is the key to the preservation of this national treasure.”
What happened to Boracay, according to Puyat, was “the ultimate lesson in balancing development and protecting the environment.”
“The lessons learned here are not for Boracay alone but also for the other island destinations around our beautiful country. The reopening of Boracay is not the culmination of our journey on sustainable tourism — it’s just the beginning,” according to the Tourism secretary.
Boracay Island’s rehabilitation is still a work in progress. It may take about two years to complete the rehabilitation, according to Local Government secretary Eduardo Año.
So what can – and can’t – tourists and accommodation establishments do in the world-famous island resort?
Visitors cannot simply enter the island as they wish. The Boracay interagency task force overseeing the rehabilitation is limiting the number of tourists coming in. Roughly only 19,000 tourists may stay on the island at any given time. How will it do this?
Before entering Boracay tourists would be required to present reservations slips or proof of bookings in accommodation establishments accredited by the Department of Tourism. “No booking, no entry” is the policy to regulate the entry of tourists.
BEACH ACTIVITIES
Smoking and drinking alcoholic beverages are no longer allowed along the White Beach.
Dining by the beach and installation of electric lights on the beachfront is prohibited while fireworks displays are allowed only until 9 p.m.
The famous sandcastle-making in the beachfront is also regulated.
Souvenir shops and hawkers along beachfront are banned and fire dancing that uses kerosene is disallowed.
Casinos are banned on the island.
Meanwhile, the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority has been tasked as sole regulator of Boracay’s water lines.
Also, hotels not connected to the island’s sewerage system or do not have their own water treatment facilities won’t be allowed to reopen./PN
