Foreign tourists enjoy the breathtaking view of Oslob town in southern Cebu, known for its whale shark watching activity. In the background is Sumilon Island, which the municipal government has ordered off limits to visitors from April 10-16 for a cleanup and rehabilitation drive. CDN PHOTO/TONEE DESPOJO
Surrounded by crystal-clear seawater and boasts a powdery-fine, white shore, Sumilon Island has been touted as the “little Boracay” in Cebu and a haven for tourists visiting Cebu.
Local officials of Oslob town, to which Sumilon belongs, however want to prevent the island from suffering the same fate as the world-famous, resort-island in Aklan province, and decided to close it for a cleanup before national authorities find a reason to shut it down as well, like they did with Boracay.
Oslob Mayor Jose Tumulak Jr. announced that they would be temporarily closing portions of Sumilon Island to visitors starting this Tuesday, April 10 until April 16, a Monday.
This is to give way for an intensive, cleanup drive, and rehabilitation efforts on the island’s sandbar and snorkeling site, which are visited by about a thousand domestic and foreign tourists every day.
Tumulak said pieces of garbage left uncollected since the Holy Week on these areas prompted them to decide to halt visits and day tour activities on the island’s famous sandbar to allow them to first clean up its shorelines.
“Maong gi-temporarily close kay tungod atong Holy Week nga pwerting daghana sa bisita unya nag overcrowding na. Nakita nato sa picture nga pwerting daghana sa basura ug wala na gyud makaya sa na-assign didto sa paglimpyo,” Tumulak said in a phone interview with Cebu Daily News.
(We will temporarily close the island due to loads of garbage left by tourists who overcrowded the island during the Holy Week. We saw photos of the heaps of garbage on the island and our staff there could no longer handle the cleanup by themselves.)
Tumulak’s announcement came three days after President Rodrigo Duterte approved the six-month closure of Boracay Island starting this April 26, and a month since the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) intensified their crackdown on resorts, located in tourist-famous islands, that do not comply waste-management laws.
The island
Sumilon Island is situated around the southern tip of Oslob, which is famous for whale shark watching activities. To reach the 24-hectare island, tourists will have to take a 30-minute ride via a motorized banca from Barangay Tan-awan in mainland Oslob.
The island is known as a favorite stopover for tourists who want to swim with whale sharks (locally called as butanding) in the waters off Barangay Tan-awan, Oslob, a fourth-class municipality located 125 kilometers southeast of Cebu City.
Aside from the sandbar, a snorkeling site and a centuries-old watchtower, all of which are managed by the local government of Oslob, a privately owned resort can also be found on Sumilon Island. It is also 200 meters away from a marine sanctuary facing Dumaguete City in Negros Oriental.
Around 2,000 local and international tourists visit Oslob in a daily basis for its whale shark sightings alone, and more than half of them include Sumilon Island in their itineraries.
Welcomed move
The decision of the municipal government to temporarily close portions of Sumilon Island was met with praises both from the public and private sectors in Cebu province.
In a separate interview with CDN, Cebu Vice Gov. Agnes Magpale commended Tumulak for taking the initiative.
“I would like to congratulate Mayor Tumulak for his efforts. Maayo ra pud (That’s a good decision). It’s really about time for us to take care of our natural resources. What happened on Boracay Island is indeed a wake-up call for all of us,” said Magpale, who chairs the Provincial Board’s (PB) committee on tourism and heritage.
The Cebu Association of Tour Operations Specialists (Catos) also welcomed the decision of the local government unit (LGU) of Oslob.
“We were informed about this already and there was no objection from the group. We did not make any resolution to protest the decision of the LGU in Oslob. And I think it’s good. It’s a proactive measure to make us all aware and more concerned about the environment,” said Alice Queblatin, president of Catos.
Downtime
Tumulak said the cleanup drive would take at least three days, while the remaining days will be intended for the island’s downtime.
“Kita gani tawo magkinahanglan og pahuway, sila sad nature kinahanglan pud papahuwayon nato pud (We human beings need rest. And mother nature needs to rest, too),” he said.
In a separate interview, Oslob Tourism Officer Elizabeth Benologa said that the Philippine Navy and several diving groups volunteered to join the rehabilitation of the island by collecting trash under water.
She added that marine biologists from Large Marine Vertebrates Research Institute Philippines (Lamave) will also assess the condition of marine lives around Sumilon Island.
Lamave has been partnering with the Oslob LGU to monitor whale sharks in the town.
Information dissemination
As early as last Thursday, April 5, Tumulak said they started putting up posters and tarpaulins and handed out flyers in some areas frequented by the public in Oslob to inform everyone of the upcoming, cleanup drive in Sumilon Island.
He said resort owners and tour operators were also informed to not include in their package a trip to the island for a week. There are at least seven tour operators based in Oslob that offer Sumilon Island in their package.
For their part, Queblatin said they already notified all the 42 members of Catos about the news, and gave them the discretion to make necessary adjustments if needed. All members of Catos include Sumilon Island in their tour packages, she said.
“We can look for other areas to swim. I don’t think it’s going to be a big impact, and it’s not going to be a big challenge for our daily operation. It’s like cleaning or sweeping the whole household. We’re looking at alternatives right now,” she added.
Eye-opener
Tumulak shared Magpale’s sentiment that what happened to Boracay was an eye-opener for all LGUs in the country, particularly those in Cebu province where numerous eco-tourist spots can be found.
“Aware man pud sila sa nahitabo sa Boracay unya kon dili na mada namog limpyo ug mo step in ang national government tingalig masirad-an og dugay (They are aware about what happened in Boracay, if we cannot clean it and the national government will step in, there is a possibility we also need to shut down for a long period),” he said.
Tumulak said he would also inspect other places in Oslob frequented by tourists, and close them for cleanup if necessary.
Magpale said she hoped other LGUs in Cebu would follow Oslob’s example and implement proactive measures to protect their tourism spots.
“I hope other LGUs, particularly Moalboal and (Daanbantayan) for Malapascua Island, will replicate the actions of Oslob. As well as the private resorts, hopefully, will follow suit. I’ve been to Santa Fe in Bantayan Island recently, and they’re OK,” said Magpale.
It can be recalled that on Maundy Thursday (March 29), Santa Fe Mayor Jose Esgana announced his plans to also close Santa Fe town from tourists if they assessed that their anti-trash laws are not being followed.
Santa Fe, one of the three towns of Bantayan Island in the northern tip of Cebu, is also famous for its white sand beach, which is frequented by tourists mainly during the Holy Week.
But despite efforts of the LGU to remind tourists to put their wastes in garbage receptacles, they still leave their trash on the beach, forcing the local government employees, and even the town police force, into doing the cleanup themselves.