Top tourist spot a ‘sewer’

– Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte yesterday ordered an urgent clean-up of the country’s most famous tourist hotspot, Boracay, calling it a “sewer pool” that he would not hesitate to shut down completely.

He said he has given Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu six months to fix up the mess on Boracay, which he said was overdeveloped and had become a “disaster”.

Boracay attracts nearly 2 million domestic and foreign visitors every year because of its fine white sand, lively night scene and abundant water sports.

Consistently voted by travel magazines as one of the top tourist destinations, Duterte warned it wouldn’t be for much longer as there are piles of uncollected garbage just 20 to 25 metres from the beach and sewage flowing into the sea.

“You created a disaster there,” Duterte said in a speech on Cebu, another central island.

Duterte said he was holding the local government and Boracay residents responsible for being “overzealous” with development, allowing structures to be built up to the beach without proper sewage and water treatment facilities.

“I will charge you for serious neglect of duty making Boracay a sewer pool,” he said.

“There will be a time that no more foreigners will go there.” –