SOME 30 environment law enforcers will be deployed by the government on Boracay Island to ensure that the tourism guidelines crafted by the Boracay Inter-Agency Task Force (BIATF) will be strictly observed.
This, as Environment Secretary and concurrent BIATF Chief Roy A. Cimatu vowed to closely monitor compliance and effectiveness of the guidelines laid down to protect the resort island from unsustainable tourism practices during its dry run from October 15 to 25.
Boracay will be opened on October 26 after six months of rehabilitation work to address various environmental problems.
According to Cimatu, the 11-day dry run would allow the government to test all systems put in place during the six months Boracay underwent much-needed rest and cleanup.
He appealed for cooperation and understanding from all stakeholders and local tourists, who will be among the firsts to experience a reinvigorated Boracay.
“We will be monitoring a lot of things, from managing the entrance, exit, and stay of the tourists, to enforcing rule of law on establishments that have been found to be non-compliant to laws and regulations,” Cimatu said in a statement.
The government would strictly enforce the “no compliance, no operation” policy for establishments not only during the dry run but beyond Boracay’s formal reopening on October 26, Cimatu said.
“We will not hesitate to close hotels and other establishments that would operate without clearance from the BIATF,” Cimatu said.
He also warned tourists who are planning to visit the island to make sure they book their accommodations with compliant hotels and similar establishments, a complete list of which will be released by the Department of Tourism.
At least 30 environmental enforcers will be deployed to check on Boracay’s water quality, solid-waste management, drainage and sewage systems, and occupation on forest areas and wetlands.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police have committed to help maintain peace and order on the island during the dry run leading to the October 26 reopening.
“We are trying to correct the mistakes of the past, and we have succeeded in finding a solution to cleaning the environment. We do not want to backslide on what we have started,” Cimatu said.
The BIATF recently approved a set of guidelines to ensure Boracay’s environment will be sustained and protected from the expected massive influx of local and foreign tourists.
The guidelines include a regulation on tourist arrivals and the number of persons allowed to stay in Boracay, in accordance with the island’s carrying capacity.
A study conducted by the Ecosystems Research and Development Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the University of the Philippines-Los Baños revealed the island’s daily carrying capacity is 54,945 to 19,215 tourists and 35,730 nontourists, which refer to residents, migrants and stay-in workers.
During the dry run, the BIATF will be implementing a traffic scheme amid ongoing roadworks on the island. This includes ferrying visitors directly to the Tambisaan port or pontoons set up at different boat stations, and impounding private and public vehicles operating without a permit.