BORACAY ISLAND, Aklan — Businesses in this resort island may already accept bookings for Oct. 27 onwards, said Roy Cimatu, environment secretary and head of the inter-agency task force for Boracay’s rehabilitation.
Boracay’s closure will not be extended beyond Oct. 26, Cimatu said during a press conference after the task force meeting held in Boracay on Tuesday afternoon. Tourism activities on the island ceased since April 26 to give way for its cleanup and rehabilitation.
However, Cimatu said that only establishments that are compliant with government and environmental regulations shall be allowed to operate.
“Those establishments that are not compliant and still face cases — that is a big ‘no’ for them,” he said.
Of the 2,269 establishments on the island, only 95 are compliant, said Department of the Interior and Local Government Officer-in-Charge Eduardo Año.
“Marami silang aayusin bago sila makapag-continue ng business nila (They have to fix many things before they could continue to operate),” said Año.
With six days before the second month of the closure, Cimatu likewise said that more than 50 percent of the rehabilitation work is already done.
“We have already identified everything. Implementation na lang ito. It is only a matter of time,” he told members of the media, adding that various government agencies have been on track in meeting the different key result areas (KRAs) that are part of the task force’s mandate.
Rehab works update
Cimatu said water quality on the island’s White Beach is already improving based on the regular monitoring conducted by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ Environmental Management Bureau (DENR-EMB).
The task force, he said, is focused on removing the illegal settlers in the different wetlands on the island to improve water quality in Bulabog.
“Habang andyan sila, ang coliform level andyan. Kung mawala ang tao dyan, lilinis na yun (While the illegal settlers are there, the coliform level will not improve. Once the settlers are relocated, the area will become clean),” he said, adding that removal of some illegal structures in wetland numbers 3 and 6 has begun.
The DENR and the local government of Malay town in Aklan province has identified a relocation site for those who will be displaced. “It will be in a 10-hectare property in mainland Malay,” Cimatu said.
While the relocation site has been set, families who will be displaced will be sheltered first at the temporary evacuation center of Malay’s local government in the mainland, he said.
Cimatu said food and other assistance shall be provided by the Department of Social Welfare and Development for those who will be transferred to evacuation centers.
Come July, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) will also begin constructing the 5-km. main road, said DPWH Undersecretary Roberto Bernardo. The road construction shall be done parallel to the construction of the drainage along the main road.
Clearing operations along the main road for the road widening project is ongoing, according to the DPWH.
The DPWH has also begun building the 452-meter road in Bulabog that links the circumferential road from Cagban to Mt. Luho. The road will serve as an alternative route to decongest traffic along the main road. (Karen Bermejo/PNA)
