Boracay In ‘Tourist Holiday?’

The Department of Interior and Local Government said that Boracay is closing for 60 days. This is in line with the government’s plan to rehabilitate the island.

Boracay is one of the best beaches in the Philippines. The island is the ultimate summer destination due to its white sand and clear waters. The island, found in Kalibo, Aklan, is accessible by air and travel time is around an hour.

5 Things To know, Boracay in ‘tourist holiday’

The 60-day “holiday” stems back to President Rodrigo Duterte’s plan to fix the island. In February, he announced the plan to clean Boracay in the Manila Times forum. He asked Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu to clean the island in 6 months.

On the same forum, he also threatened to shut down the island due to pollution. “I will close Boracay,” he says. “It is a cesspool. You go in the water, it’s smelly. The smell of what? Sh**.” he adds.

Here are five things that you should know about the 60-day tourist holiday of Boracay

1. Cleaning. DILG will do most of the cleaning during the 60-day closing period of the island. This includes dismantling of properties in the island. This aims to restore the island to its original beauty and pristine condition.

2. No tourists for 60 days. DILG Assistant Secretary for Plans and Programs Epimaco Densing III said it would be better to stop tourists from entering Boracay as the government will have to demolish structures first. This is regardless of whether the tourists are international or local.

Boracay stakeholders and business owners opposed the ordinance. They said that the government said to shut down only the erring establishments. The ordinance might affect those depending on the island for livelihood.

3. Closed to solve sewage disposal as well. In rebuttal, Densing also appealed to the businessmen. He asked for cooperation during the rehabilitation of the destination. Aside from clean up, the plan also aims to solve sewage disposal issues. Along with this, DILG will also solve zoning violations of some establishments.

4. Closing dates. According to a report by GMA, the projected dates for the rehabilitation would be from June 1 to July 31.

5. Bridge assistance offered to those who would lose jobs for 2 months. The same report says Densing mentioned they will provide “bridge assistance to those who will be identified who will not make money if ever the island will be closed for rehabilitation.”

According to the Malay Municipal Tourism office, more than two million people visited Boracay in 2017. President Rodrigo Duterte threatened to close Boracay Island if DILG, DOT, and DENR will fail in in its rehabilitation.