The world-famous Boracay Island has started to regain its natural beauty after a six-month cleaned up and environmental restoration. Starting today, October 26, tourists all over the globe can once again enjoy the island’s immaculate shoreline and clear blue waters. As the idyllic island reopened its door to visitors, new rules meant to maintain its pristine condition are being implemented.

Boracay is a tiny yet fascinating island located approximately 315 kilometers south of Manila and two kilometers off the northwest tip of Panay Island in Western Visayas region. This paradise island only stretches up to seven kilometers with a width of only one kilometer at its narrowest.

With its fine, white sand beaches and exceptional culture, Boracay was able to captivate countless tourists all over the world. It has become the face of Philippine tourism for a long time, experiencing a surge in visitors that later on resulted to overcrowding.

Due to poor government planning, insufficient environmental regulations, and the lax enforcement of the law, Boracay faced a sad fate; it was abused, battered, and overburdened.

Prior to closure, Boracay was accommodating around two million visitors every year — a number that’s simply unsustainable in the long run.

To meet the growing demand of tourists, many hotels and other establishments, which do not comply with local environmental laws, were established on both sides of the island in the past years. Many structures in the island were built without permits, and were erected on protected areas or under the 30-meter distance from the beach.

Moreover, due to establishments that discharged their sewage right onto the beach, algal bloom — a rapid increase in the population of algae in an aquatic system — has also expanded in size and duration.

There was also an escalating solid waste problem in the island. According to former Tourism Secretary Wanda T. Teo, Boracay generates 90 to 115 tons of trash a day, of which only 30 tons are shipped out regularly to a landfill on a nearby island.

In view of the various issues surrounding the island of Boracay, three government agencies, composed of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), the Department of Tourism (DoT), and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), unanimously recommended the closure of the island from entry of local and foreign tourists.

President Rodrigo R. Duterte then approved the recommendation. Thereafter, the six-month closure of Boracay started on April 26.

Prior to Boracay’s reopening today, the government had a 10-day dry run from Oct. 15 to 25. Residents of Aklan and other parts of Western Visayas had the chance to have a sneak preview of how the island looks like now.

The once damaged island is now exhibiting its old-world charm. Tourists can now enjoy a wider view of the beachfront after structures that fell inside the 30-meter border were cleared. For proper disposal of wastes, trash bins are located around the island.

Last September, the DENR declared that the waters on Boracay are now safe and clean. The coliform levels at the white beachfront and the east side of the island are now far below the 400mpn (Most Probable Number) per 100 millimeters maximum tolerable level.

In terms of security, the Philippine National Police assured that the agency is all set for the reopening of Boracay today. In a press briefing last Monday, Chief Superintendent John Bulalacao, regional director for Western Visayas regional police office, said that there will be enough personnel to be deployed around the island.

Meanwhile, the DILG said that the anti-littering ordinance in the island will be strictly enforced. Violators may face a fine or imprisonment.

Under the Municipal Ordinance Number 311, series of 2012, the Malay local government prohibits the following acts: littering in public spaces, waterways, and recreational areas; urinating, spitting, defacating in public spaces, waterways, and recreational areas; vandalizing the walls or surfaces of public places, or private properties upon complaint of the owner; and dumping of trash along roads that may impeded flow of pedestrian traffic.

New set of rules are also being observed, including the no booking, no entry policy; no eating, smoking and drinking on the beach; no partying on the beachfront; and no beach beds, chairs, tables or umbrellas in the sand or within 30 meters of the beachfront.

Despite its remarkable progress, the island is still undergoing a lot of work, especially when it comes to road construction. In fact, rehabilitation works on the island are set to continue. There will be a second and third phase rehabilitation, which projected to last until mid-2019 and until the end of 2019, respectively. — Mark Louis F. Ferrolino

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