BORACAY Island, Malay, Aklan—President Duterte is expected to decide during the Cabinet meeting today (Monday) whether to keep Boracay Island open to tourists. But if it will be closed off, he will also decide when the closure will start, and for how long.
Government sources told the BusinessMirror that all Cabinet secretaries are one in thinking that the island should be closed, and “it’s just a matter of when that will happen…. [Interior secretary-designate] Gen. [Eduardo M.] Año wants to close off the island immediately, so demolitions of illegal structures could be done and the sewage problem can be resolved. [Tourism] Secretary [Wanda Corazon T.] Teo wants it to be closed during the habagat [monsoon] season. [Environment] Secretary [Roy A.] Cimatu still has questions, but is considering it.”
Other government sources noted that the Cabinet secretaries shouldn’t be hasty on recommending the island’s closure. “The President gave the task force six months to solve Boracay’s problems. Only then will he consider to close it or not. Ba’t nila pinangungunahan si Presidente?”
After the Senate hearing last Friday, Año told the BusinessMirror that Task Force Boracay “would relay to the President what was discussed today because it was he who said, if there would not be any changes, ‘I will close it.’ He means business. If it can be shown that everyone is willing to contribute to save Boracay, then the President will reconsider it.”
The senators had asked the task force not to include the closure option in its recommendations. It was revealed at the hearing that there were about 19,000 workers on the island who will lose their only source of income if the island is closed. (See, “DENR chief wants Boracay to remain open,” in the BusinessMirror, March 3, 2018)
Last Thursday and Friday members of the task force, which include officials of the Departments of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Interior and Local Government and of Tourism, conducted marathon meetings to discuss several issues pertaining to the easement and sewage issues, as well as the need for baseline figures for the body to be able to make its proper recommendations to Duterte. The task force is composed of the three agencies and will be expanded to include the departments of Justice and of Public Works and Highways.
One of the issues raised during the meetings was the number of local government and DENR officials who are responsible for the problems Boracay is now facing. Another point raised is the carrying capacity of the island and what year was it breached. The DENR is expected to determine how many people—tourists, local population and workers—the island can still carry. Tourist arrivals on the island grew from 634,263 in 2008 to some 2 million in 2017, indicating an average growth of 13.2 percent in 10 years, data from the DOT showed. Partial data also showed there were 430 resorts with 14,697 rooms in 2017, up from 408 resorts with 11,246 rooms the previous year.
At the Senate hearing last Friday, Sen. Juan Miguel F. Zubiri, chairman of the Committee on Trade and Finance, said he will be proposing a bill to create a Boracay Island Development Authority, a private sector-led body that will oversee the development of the popular island resort. He added this would be something similar to the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority.
Teo said she agrees with Zubiri’s proposal: “Maybe the government can handle it first, then turn it over to the private sector.”
Meanwhile, Cimatu said he will be presenting at the Cabinet meeting on Monday “the outcome of the less-than-one-month compliance to [President Duterte’s] directive [to fix Boracay’s problems]. Without finishing the sewage system, I can’t say [if we will close the island.]” BIWC has been tasked to connect its two sewerage-treatment plants to maximize their use. At present, one is underutilized, while the other is overused.
The DENR chief stressed it was “really impractical” to close the island to tourists immediately as Año wanted, if its problems have not yet been solved. “This will depend on the total things I’m doing now. The compliance to easement [rules]. The compliance to solid waste [law]. There are problems other than the sewage issue. This is an integrated problem, and we’re trying to solve it one by one.”
He cited traffic congestion along the main road of the island as a major issue, as well. “We are even looking to [construct] a diversion road and we have been discussing that we have to do it immediately so we can decongest. If there is a diversion road, the problem of congestion will ease. We have an integrated approach to the problems. When after several months, when everything is okay na, then only then can I make a recommendation [to close it or not].”
Año had told task force members he wanted an immediate closure while time was still on its side, and it will be able to implement rehabilitation plans for the island before the establishments found to have violated environmental and easement laws can file cases against the government.
5 comments
19,000 workers, so it is over populated BEFORE tourist arrive
Not really. You don’t see the workers taking-up space on the beach.
Is the government really serious about fixing the problems in Boracay? If it is, I recommend the following: Close Boracay for 6 months during the rainy season from June to November. Clean up the place and demolish all illegal structures. Repair and expand waste treatment plants. Build and expand access roads. Build a bridge connecting the island to the mainland for franchise tourist buses, emergency, construction and police vehicles use only. No private vehicles or tricycles allowed in the island. Franchise electric or hybrid tourist buses will be the only vehicles in the island as transportation. Establish a Boracay Development Authority with sole authority to issue building permits, etc and responsible for planning, maintenance and development. Remove all local governmental authority over the island. No more commercial structures should be allowed to be built in the island.
Who pays my fixed costs and employees during the shutdown? Many resorts on the island have bank financing. These loans need to be paid, or you will find many locations facing foreclosure by the time the island reopens.
Bigger issues exist with this!
We don’t need a diversion road. What we need to do, in order to alleviate traffic, is to build a dock near BTR or Din-Iwid, and to utilize another dock at New Coast.
Get rid of all of the banca boats, and buy eight or more Fast Craft boats, which can carry up to 200 people each, even in bad weather. Deploy these boats to ply the following routes:
Caticlan to Cagban
Caticlan to BTR/Din-iwid
Tabon to Tambisaan
Tabon to New Coast
Let these boats run every 20-30 minutes on their routes, year-round, and provide 24/7 service.
This will help the island, because you will no longer have trikes having to travel from Cagban to Yapak, and back, ferrying passengers.
In addition, outlaw the pedal trikes from the Main Road and the Back Road. They are not necessary, and the services that they provide are more costly than what is already available from regular cargo and passenger trikes. All they do is reduce traffice speeds to walking speed, as these idiots care nothing about the traffic that they create.
Next, get rid of motorized trikes, and switch to e-Trikes for the island.
Finally, regulate single motorcycle drivers. They provide services that e-Trikes cannot, and they are necessary for locals to be able to do their business on the island. Not every residence is on an e-Trike route, so these bikes are necessary. Legalize them!
As for fixes on the island, a lot of attention is focused on run-off and sewerage, which are significant problems. However, our roads are in horrific shape. We need to finish all of the water issues, but then put-in asphalt roads, which will last 5-10 years, instead of concrete roads, which can only sustain 6-24 months.
Enforce the set-backs on the beachfronts and set the Main Road to be 10 meters across, plus sidewalks. This will allow enough room for traffic to flow and pass.
Another suggestion would be to have trike stops on the Main Road, rather than allowing trikes to simply stop anywhere. Have these stops be off the path, so that when trikes stop, they no longer block traffic. If a hotel has a lane or parking, this is not a problem, but the whole “stop anywhere, at anytime” method has to go away.
The first 50 meters past Lake Street to the Main Road needs to be a No Loading Zone. At night, the terminals that have been created at McDo and Craft’s need to be eliminated, as this blocks traffic.
I have more tips. Respond, if you would like to hear them.