Another "six months"
This is no more turning back. If you still have plans to visit Boracay despite all the issues hounding the island, you might as well cancel them. President Duterte has finally approved the closure of Boracay for six months, beginning April 26. PAL and Cebu Pacific have already suspended their flights to and from Aklan because of the closure. According to the government, the calamity fund will be used to help those affected by the shutdown. No details were yet given as to how the fund would help those affected. Will it pay for lost income of the more than 17,000 registered workers on Boracay? Will they give food allowance? Will they give money, offer work? Will they offer other means of livelihood while Boracay is closed?
The effect of Boracay's closure will not only affect those on the island but also the municipal and provincial governments of Aklan. The island has become a cash cow for the province. The millions in terminal fees collected from tourists coming to Boracay go to the municipalities and provinces. Apparently, there are three government hospitals that benefit from collected terminal fees. With all that gone for six months, it is still a question as to where will they get the funds to replace the help provided by the fees. Will the calamity fund cover that as well?
I feel sorry for the establishments that have faithfully complied with all the necessary documents, permits, licenses, and have proper waste disposal systems. Their protests will most likely fall on deaf ears. The shutdown will hit them hard, for offenses they did not commit. Life is like that sometimes, there are those affected by the mistakes of others. We have another "six months" to start counting down. That is, if it only takes six months for the government to fix all it sees wrong with Boracay.
Hopefully there will be good changes happening in the six-month shutdown. If the island naturally heals itself, then well and good. It would be nice to see truly white sand, the way it used to be. The way it should be. The government plans to tear down all illegal structures, purge not only illegal establishments but their waste disposal as well. All pipes that dispose waste inland must be found and sealed, if not removed. All those that empty into the sea must be removed. Establishments that for years have operated illegally should be torn down. If that can be done in six months, fine. But if it will take more than that, then the lives of all that depend on the island paradise will just be miserable. I still fail to see the logic behind putting up a casino-hotel-resort on Boracay, with all its current woes. At what expense again to the environment will the supposed revenues generated by the casino bring? Is this yet another way to please the Chinese? To show that China is indeed a friend of the country, or rather, this administration?
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