STAKEHOLDERS on Boracay Island are appealing to government for a less restrictive community quarantine status that is separate from Aklan province.
In a letter to Health Secretary Francisco H. Duque III dated July 15, 2021, Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry-Boracay (BCCI) officials said, “[The] situation in Boracay Island is different from the situation in the province of Aklan at this time. We would like to request that the favorable metrics for Boracay Island be considered in relation to the decision for community quarantine status…, and we note the current low number of cases and transmissions.”
The group added, “In the longer term, [we] would like that Boracay Island be granted its own community quarantine status. As we move forward, this small population island will be [increasingly] vaccinated, and we are seeing vaccines arrive in numbers.” Duque chairs the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF). Prior to the pandemic, Boracay attracted 2 million foreign and local visitors.
The Department of Tourism (DOT) has been instrumental in requesting for vaccines to inoculate the island’s tourism workers. As of July 27, the island has received some 13,000 vaccine doses against Covid-19. The DOT’s goal is to vaccinate all 11,620 tourism workers on the island, especially with the holiday season fast approaching.
LGUs should advocate for their status
For the past several weeks, Aklan has been in danger of being put under modified enhanced community quarantine largely due to the rising Covid-19 cases on the mainland. An MECQ will automatically close a destination to leisure travelers.
As such, the DOT has encouraged local government units (LGUs) to be proactive in engaging with the IATF with regard to setting their respective community quarantines.
Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat told the BusinessMirror, especially in the case of Boracay Island in Malay, Aklan, “I informed the private sector that their Mayor and Governor should be the ones appealing the community quarantines.”
She stressed, “The DOT does not decide on the quarantine classifications imposed in a certain area, as this falls under the jurisdiction of the IATF, after vetting of the Screening Validation Committee co-chaired by the Department of Interior and Local Government and the [DOH].”
Prior to the IATF meetings, the Screening Validation Committee informs LGUs on their impending community quarantines based on the number of Covid cases in their areas. The LGUs can appeal to the committee if they think their community quarantines are too restrictive, or may have new data and information to reverse such quarantines before these are formally recommended to the IATF.
TCP stresses testing, 15-day work shifts
For his part, Tourism Congress of the Philippines president Jose C. Clemente III said he supported the BCCI’s request for a separate community quarantine for the island, but stressed that Boracay “has to first reach 70-percent vaccination rate to give reasonable time for the situation to be monitored, and see if the vaccines are taking effect.”
He also pointed out, “The LGU really has to address the entrance/exit of daily workers from coming in and out of the island. If there are infections, that’s probably the cause,” underscoring the workers have to be “RT-PCR tested, not antigen tested.”
He said they have been recommending to Governor [Florencio] Miraflores and Mayor [Frolibar] Bautista “a 15-day shifting rotation of workers, with testing. The TCP believes that can be a deterrent to new Covid cases.”
Similarly, Romulo Puyat told Boracay stakeholders the reopening of the island “is a significant development in the government’s efforts to revive the tourism industry in a safe and responsible manner. Given this, the DOT has further suggested to the Provincial Government of Aklan and the LGU of Malay to implement stricter border and testing controls in Boracay, especially for workers who are traveling from Aklan mainland to Boracay on a daily basis. Such effort will help protect Boracay’s bubble and ensure the health and safety of its tourists, workers, and residents.”
Image credits: Stella Arnaldo