Palace order out on Boracay as rehabilitation begins

MALACAÑANG ON Thursday issued President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s Proclamation No. 475 declaring the “temporary closure of (Boracay) island as a tourist destination.”

The proclamation also declared a state of calamity in the island’s villages of Balabag, Manoc-Manoc, and Yapak.

The order cited pertinent provisions of the Constitution as well as existing laws as basis. It also noted, among other environmental factors affecting the island, “a high concentration of fecal coliform in the Bolabog beaches...due to insufficient sewer lines and illegal discharge of untreated waste water into the beach.”

“Most commercial establishments and residences are not connected to the sewerage infrastructure of Boracay Island, and waste products are not being disposed through the proper sewerage infrastructures in violation of environmental law, rules, and regulations,” the proclamation also read, citing further that only 14 of 51 establishments near Boracay’s shores are compliant with the Clean Water Act of 2004.

“Solid waste within Boracay Island is at a generation rate of 90 to 115 tons per day, while the hauling capacity of the local government is only 30 tons per day,” the proclamation read further.

It also cited beach erosion, the disappearance of wetlands (only four out of nine remaining) and the increase by more than 160% of the daily number of tourists (at 18,082) between 2012 and 2017.

The order also serves to formally activate the interagency task force organized for the island’s rehabilitation.

Stakeholders have petitioned the Supreme Court to stop the government’s move, but the high court’s spokesman, Theodore O. Te, said via text on Thursday when sought for comment, “No TRO.”