White sand beaches in Sta Fe Bantayan Island.(CDN PHOTO/TD)
BORACAY REOPENING SET
OTHER popular tourism areas like Cebu and Bohol are encouraged to step up their rehabilitation efforts, as the reopening of Boracay Island to tourists draws near.
Rep. Rodrigo Abellanosa (Cebu City south district), chairperson of the House committee on natural resources, gave this advice after he together with Cabinet officials last week checked on the progress of the cleanup of the popular island destination.
“We are glad that the horrendous problems that led to the closure of Boracay have led to tremendous hopes and opportunities for people,” Abellanosa said in a statement on Sunday.
He said that he hoped that efforts would also be done in other tourism hubs in the country like Mactan and Oslob in Cebu, Panglao in Bohol, and El Nido and Coron in Palawan.
President Rodrigo Duterte ordered a six-month closure of Boracay Island last April 26 after calling it a “cesspool” upon discovering problems on drainage and sewage from establishments that have crowded the island’s beachfront.
Members of the Boracay Inter-Agency Rehabilitation Task Force were also present during the inspection last week.
Shortly after Boracay’s closure, some local government units in Cebu also implemented their own cleanup efforts.
The town of Oslob decided to close Sumilon Island’s sandbar for a week and the Tumalog Falls for another week to clean them up.
Lapu-Lapu City has also started a crackdown on establishments found encroaching on the shoreline easement.
If he would be asked, Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu said Boracay would be ready for a “soft opening” next month.
“I can categorically state that Boracay is no longer a cesspool. And that we will be reopening Boracay in October,” said Cimatu who is the head of the task force.
The task force, who presented their report during last week’s Boracay inspection, also said that they planned to protect the resources of the island, regulate the coastal and marine reserve and restore the beach front.
They also planned to impose prohibitions on the island including bans on the famed beach parties, regulation of fire dancing and sand castle making, as well as the strict implementation of easement laws on the beachfront.