ILOILO CITY, Philippines — Except in emergency situations, not even guests of Boracay residents will be allowed to visit the island during its closure, according to general guidelines issued by authorities.
The guidelines will form part of the inter-agency contingency plan that came up during the Regional Peace and Order Council 6 (RPOC-6)’s meeting on Wednesday for the island’s closure beginning April 26.
Chief Supt. Cesar Hawthorne Binag, RPOC-6 chairman and Western Visayas police chief, said residents, workers and resort owners should be guided on what to expect for the duration of the shutdown.
Aside from RPOC-6 members, the meeting was also attended by Aklan Gov. Florencio Miraflores and Interior and Local Government Assistant Secretary Manuel Felix.
Under the guidelines, identified tourists will not be allowed into the island and will e stopped at the jetty port while residents/workers/resort owners will be allowed entry to the island subject to the presentation of identification cards with specific address in any of the three barangays.
Generally, swimming will not be allowed anywhere in the island. However, residents may be allowed to swim only at Angol Beach in Station 3 from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m.
No visitors of Boracay residents shall be allowed entry except under emergency situations with the clearance of the security committee composed of representatives from the Department of the Interior and Local Government, Philippine National Police and the local government unit.
Foreign residents will have to be revalidated by the Bureau of Immigration and media will be allowed entry subject to prior approval from the Department of Tourism with a definite duration and limited movement.
No floating structures shall be allowed up to 15 kilometers from shoreline.
Cavan Port will be the only entry and exit point, Binag said, but it was not discussed if workers doing rehabilitation work and other individuals who will be allowed entry could also take a dip at Angol Beach at the designated time given to Boracay residents.
Assistance ready
The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), through undersecretary and officer-in-charge Emmanuel Leyco, said it is now setting up two operation centers – one in Boracay and another in Malay, Aklan – to assist those who would be affected by the closure.
Leyco told The STAR in a phone interview the DSWD is ready for any eventuality as it had been assisting communities in Malay through conditional cash transfer, livelihood and feeding programs.
Leyco also said they are set to suspend the required compliance with the conditional cash transfer (CCT) conditionalities for beneficiaries in Malay.
“It is impractical to impose the conditionalities during the closure,” Leyco said.
Based on data from the region, 2,348 household members enrolled in the CCT program will be affected by the closure.
Put up casinos elsewhere
Malacañang said yesterday the Macau-based Galaxy Entertainment Group may have to build a casino elsewhere if President Duterte decides to prohibit the establishment of gaming centers in the island.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said the Supreme Court had ruled that the world-famous tourist spot, which will be closed for six months to undergo rehabilitation, is state-owned.
“The license must have been issued by Pagcor (Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp). But the President was talking about the physical existence of a casino in Boracay, which he will not allow unless he has issued a proclamation to this effect because of the decision that Boracay, the island, is state-owned,” Roque said at a press briefing in Hong Kong, noting the license could be provisional.
Galaxy and Resorts World Manila are reportedly planning to build casinos in Boracay, which has been labeled by Duterte as a cesspool because of the lack of sewerage system.
Last Monday, Duterte said no casinos would be built in Boracay and that the island would be given to those who need it the most.
Duterte claimed he was not aware of Galaxy’s plan to build a casino in Boracay. Malacañang, however, sent photos of him meeting with officials of Galaxy four months ago to talk about investments.
“Galaxy Entertainment, one of the world’s leading resorts, hospitality and gaming companies, tied up with a local partner to invest in the Philippines. The company is in the process of complying with government requirements to start operating in the country,” a handout released by the Presidential Communications Operations Office read.
Asked what would happen to the provisional license granted to Galaxy, Roque said: “Well, you see, the President was highlighting that because of the decision of the Supreme Court on Boracay, it is the President that could actually authorize, through proclamation, how Boracay should be utilized.”
“Perhaps the license, if there is any at all, I do not know how this will be resolved. But as far as Boracay is concerned, he wants the people to benefit from Boracay,” he added.
Roque said it would be up to the President to decide who would be given tenurial rights in Boracay.
“He (Duterte) has said that he would like to give priority to the ordinary people, to the farmers, if there are,” he added.
Carrying capacity
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is set to conduct research on Boracay’s carrying capacity to use as basis for the issuance of permits such as environmental compliance certificate (ECC).
Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu said in particular, the DENR’s Ecosystems Research and Development Bureau will undertake the study to determine how many tourists can be allowed to enter the island or how many establishments can be put up in the area once it reopens.
“The result of the study will be released before the month ends,” he said.
The DENR chief likewise said there will be retraining of stakeholders on solid waste management in the island. These will include environment officials, local officials, business groups and establishment owners in Boracay.
Promote other destinations
Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte urged the Department of Tourism (DOT) to aggressively market the country’s other tourist spots with the closure of Boracay for six months.
In making the appeal, Villafuerte said it would not be difficult for the DOT to sustain tourist arrival levels even with Boracay closed since the country is among Asia’s booming destinations owing to improvements in infrastructure and land, air and sea connectivity.
“The DOT can do wonders by aggressively pitching the country as an ecotourism haven and as an extreme sports destination, for one, to make up for Boracay’s shutdown,” he said.
He noted that respected online publication forbes.com has named the Philippines, Japan, Malaysia, Indonesia and South Korea as Asian nations with a “marked uptick” in tourist arrivals.
The Philippines was reported have had a 10.96 percent growth in 2017?tourist numbers, or 6.6 million, with over 675,000 coming from Europe – 7.3 percent higher compared to the previous year.
Villafuerte called for collective action among government agencies and other stakeholders to repackage the Philippines as Asia’s sports and eco-tourism haven.
He said when he was Camarines Sur governor from 2004 to 2013, he transformed the province into a top tourist spot by promoting Caramoan Islands as an adventure destination and the CamSur Watersports Complex as one of the world’s best wakeboarding parks and the site of world-renowned sports events, such as the Ironman 70.3 Triathlon, which was held there for three consecutive years. – With Alexis Romero, Rainier Allan Ronda, Rhodina Villanueva, Delon Porcalla, Jess Diaz
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