Depression cases expected to rise with Boracay closure
BORACAY ISLAND, AKLAN—A 42-year-old single mother of three has fallen into severe depression after she learned that she would lose her job and home as the government prepared to lock down Boracay for rehabilitation.
The woman, a masseuse, would be jobless once the closure starts on April 26. She would also lose her house because, she was told, it sat on a wetland.
Magdalena Prado, municipal social welfare and development officer, said the woman’s case was just one of many that officials expected to surface as a result of the resort island’s closure.
Social workers had been helping the woman after she showed signs of severe depression, according to Prado.
Local and national officials were bracing for similar cases as a result of job loss during the closure period.
Rowen Aguirre, municipal executive assistant for Boracay affairs, said the closure would mean the loss of income or employment of at least 36,000 registered and unregistered workers, including employees of hotels and resorts, drivers of public utility vehicles and vendors.
Many of the workers were returning to their hometowns and provinces.
Businesses would also suffer losses and small ones were likely to go bankrupt. /inquirer.net
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