Keeping the faith despite unfinished work in Boracay
Six months ago, Boracay Island was closed to tourism activities to pave the way for its rehabilitation. President Duterte had then described the country's premier beach destination as a "cesspool”, referring to the huge storage of liquid waste and sewage that has tainted the world-class tourist destination.
This October 26, Boracay will be reopened to tourists. However, there remains tons of rehabilitation works that need to be completed.
Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Undersecretary for Policy, Planning and International Affairs Jonas Leones said "it is just normal that rehabilitation works are not yet complete because we are not working under perfect condition because of the rainy weather."
"What is important is that the resources and manpower are already available. We only need proper timing for the rehabilitation works to be done," Leones explained.
Boracay was closed to tourists last April 26, and exactly six months after, it will be reopened to the public this Friday (October 26).
"After October 26, there will still be a lot of constructions in terms of improving the road network. There will still be demolition of illegal establishments in the wetlands. We will still be monitoring violations in terms of easement in the beachfront, and continue monitoring STP (sewerage treatment plant) compliance, connection to sewer lines, and solid waste management," Leones said.
"The Boracay Inter-Agency Task Force (BIATF) is expected to continue with the rehabilitation of the island for the next two years," he added.
The BIATF was created through Executive Order No. 53 signed by President Rodrigo Duterte on May 8. It has designated DENR Secretary Roy Cimatu as the chairperson of the task force to oversee the rehabilitation works.
Aside from rehabilitation works, the filing of cases will continue against "establishments constructed in forestlands, those blocking waterwaste from the wetlands, or others built on top of the wetlands," Leones said. "We won't be able to solve that by October 26."
Environmental interventions as the priority
Leones said the task force has made a significant effort in addressing Boracay's major problem, which is the water pollution.
"Policies are already in place. For those establishments along the beachfront, and have 40-50 rooms and above, they should have their own sewerage treatment plants (STPs). Those with below 40 rooms should connect to sewer lines," he explained.
All 162 beachfront resorts and restaurants should have already complied to that by October 26, Leones said. If not, they will not be allowed to operate.
Cimatu is particularly concerned about the beachfront establishments because these are the ones directly discharging wastewater into the beach, he added.
Meanwhile, hotels with 50 rooms and above but are not along the beachfront are required to set up their own STPs by the end of November 2018.
"With this policy, we are confident that we can address and make sure that all wastewater discharged by the establishment before reaching the water body have complied with the DENR standard of Class SB," Leones said.
Class SB refers to waters that are fit for ecotourism or recreational activities, including swimming, bathing and diving.
During the dry-run activities, Cimatu announced that Boracay's coliform level was down to 18.1 most probable number (MPN) per 100 mL, making the island's waters already fit for swimming. The standard coliform level is 100 MPN/100 mL of sample.
Cimatu also said that solid waste disposal will also be looked into in order to make sure Boracay's garbage are "immediately moved out and not remain on the island for more than 24 hours." He suggested moving the garbage from the island to mainland Aklan.
Leones said the materials recovery facilities in Boracay can only accommodate about 80 tons of garbage per day. However, the island's actual generation has already reached 90 to 115 tons daily.
Island's allowable capacity
A study conducted by the DENR's Ecosystems Research and Development Bureau and the University of the Philippines-Los Baños revealed that the island's daily carrying capacity is 54,945, broken down into 19,215 tourists and 35,730 non-tourists, which refer to residents, migrants, and stay-in workers.
Carrying capacity refers to how much load an area can take over a given period of time from factors, such as population and infrastructure without adversely affecting the environment.
"About 19,200 tourists are only allowed at the beach area at a given time," Leones said.
He pointed out that tourists stay in Boracay for an average of three days. "If tourists stay for at least three days, the 19,200 tourists would not be swimming all at the same time or in the water for 24 hours. Some of them would not be swimming but could be doing other tourist activities. It is sustainable to only allow 6,400 tourists per day to maintain the cleanliness of the beachfront," he explained.
The same study showed that the island's existing population of more than 70,700 had already exceeded the carrying capacity by almost 30 percent.
With about non-tourists making up the bulk of the population, the task force has been evaluating a proposed relocation facility in mainland Aklan for island workers, as well as a system for their daily travel to and from Boracay.
"For the meantime, the BIATF will help the local government monitor the entry of tourists. It is very critical that we monitor tourist arrivals in the island," Leones said.
"We should also be aware of the number of rooms available. By controling the number of rooms that will be allowed to operate, that will be the basis of the number of visitors that will be allowed to enter the island," he added.
Based sa carrying capacity, there are 525 hotel/beach resorts in Boracay. This has exceeded the carrying capacity of 249 hotels and beach resorts.
Likewise, the number of existing rooms has reached 14,456, when the number of allowable number of rooms should only be 8,355.
"Even without the carrying capacity study, it is obvious that we have a problem in Boracay with the presence of garbage and overcrowding. With the scientific study, we have confirmed that it is consistent with the visual indicators," Leones said.
"This study can serve as a basis for the future planning of Boracay," he added.
Creation of a Boracay affairs office sought
Leones expressed his support for the creation of a body that will handle Boracay affairs and management similar to other authorities like the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority and Palawan Council for Sustainable Development.
"We will closely coordinate with the Congress for the creation of this kind of office because the BIATF was only created to manage Boracay for the next two years. At least if there is a permanent authority then the management of Boracay will be continuous," he said.