Duterte to close off Boracay
President closes resort island for tourism
MANILA: Philippines is closing its bestknown holiday island Boracay to tourists for up to six months over concerns that the once idyllic white-sand resort has become a “cesspool” tainted by dumped sewage, authorities said yesterday.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered the shutdown to start on April 26 for six months, spokesman Harry Roque said.
“Boracay is known as a paradise and this temporary closure is meant to ensure that the next generations will also get to experience it,” Mr Roque told reporters.
The decision jeopardises the livelihood of thousands employed in the tourist destination that serves two million guests and pumps roughly $1 billion in revenue.
Experts said the measure also appeared to contradict the government’s own prodevelopment policy for the island, including the recent approval of a planned $500-million casino and resort.
The threat of closure first emerged in February when Mr Duterte blasted the tiny island’s 500 tourism-related hotels, restaurants and other businesses, accusing them of dumping sewage directly into the sea.
Authorities said yesterday some businesses were using the island’s drainage system to send untreated sewage into its surrounding turquoise waters.
But within weeks of Mr Duterte lashing out at the local businesses, the government gave the green light to Macau casino giant Galaxy Entertainment to begin construction of a casino and resort complex.
“The casino contradicts efforts of a clean up to ensure Boracay goes back to what it once was,” former Philippine environment undersecretary Antonio La Vina said.
He added that the area has seen “unlimited” development because “local government units and the national government agencies did not do their job of enforcing rules on land use, environmental impact assessment.”
Authorities said they would use the closure to build new sewage and drainage systems, demolish structures built on wetlands and sue officials and businessmen who violated environmental laws.
The impact of the decision was already being felt, with domestic airlines announcing they would scale back the number of flights to the 1,000-hectare (2,470-acre) island.
“I am really in a quandary on how to handle six months [of closure],” budget hostel manager Manuel Raagas said.
“There will be no income and we have bills to pay so I don’t know how I will survive.”
Officials said they were willing to take a hard line, saying police and potentially even soldiers would enforce the closure.
“We will issue guidelines on how to bar tourists from entering starting from the port whether local or foreign,” interior assistant secretary Epimaco Densing told reporters yesterday.
The Boracay Foundation Inc, a business association on the island, had asked the government to shut down only those violating environmental laws.
“It’s unfair for compliant establishments to be affected,” Executive Director Pia Miraflores said.
Boracay employs 17,000 people, as well as 11,000 construction workers working on new projects.