South Koreans donate day care center in Boracay

 A group of South Koreans donated a modern day care center for children in the island.

In a ceremonial turn over held on Wednesday, the municipal government received the facility from the said foreigners who are members of the Boracay Community Association.

The rites were witnessed by representatives of Korea Sports Council of the Philippines, United Korean Community Association of the Philippines, and the Barangay Balabag Council.

For several years, South Koreans are the largest number of foreign tourists coming to this resort island.

"This project shows that the South Koreans are helping local community projects," said Malay mayor John Yap.

As a result, the former day care center occupied by a teacher and 45 pupils situated in island's Diniwid beach will be converted in to a school.

31 tourists rescued in Boracay this August

Around 31 tourists have been saved from drowning in this resort island in the month of August.

According to the Philippine Coast Guard, nine of these cases have been recorded August 22 at the height of typhoon 'Ineng.'

Victims comprise mix of local and foreign tourists some of them were South Koreans.

One of the South Korean victim was identified as Kim Jumz, 50.

The point of incident was recorded at Station 1, Station 2, and Station 3 beach including the Willy's Rock.

PCG continues to urged tourists to be careful when swimming especially during habagat season.

BORACAY WATER TAX

The Aklan Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (PENRO) is planning to renew negotiations with the Ayala water utility firm over water the collection of taxes in the world renowned Boracay Island in Malay, Aklan.  Merlene Aborka, PENRO chief for technical operations, said that previous negotiations with the Ayala group fizzled out due to legality issues. Lawyers of the Ayala group reportedly asked for parameters regarding water tax assessment in this resort island.  “Currently, we are studying the Local Government Code on how we could effectively collect water usage tax from the Ayala group,” said Aborka. The Ayala water distribution firm, which operates in the island resort, is planning to expand its services to other municipalities in Aklan.

Coast Guard reminds Boracay beach goers to observe warning signs

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) is advising the public to observe warning signs, specifically avoid swimming beyond red and yellow flags at the beach for their safety.

On Monday, a 12-year old American national was saved from drowning by two lifeguards in Boracay Island.

Reports from the Philippine Coast Guard-Boracay indicated that the child swam alone at Willy's Rock at station 1 at the height of the habagat season.

Fortunately, lifeguards Gilbert Dugang and Rex Dugang noticed the child struggling to get out of the raging waters thus immediately responded.

He was advised not to return to the beach anymore.

Young Aklanon singers in musical competitions

Three young singers whose parents are Aklanons are making waves in international and national competitions.
Ben Mobo, son of the late Aklan governor Benhur Mobo, said his nieces in Brunei won in the prestigious 19th Annual World Championships of Performing Arts (WCOPA). The competition, which is dubbed the “Olympics of Talents,” was held in Long Beach, California, USA.
Shana Mobo-Holmes, 13, was a semi-finalist in the Junior Vocal Solo and Modeling categories. She also received a medal for Industry Award and was the Grand Champion Division Winner for Original Work. Shana sang an original composition “Tomorrow Starts Now,” an uplifting song that expresses the millennials’ strong desire to shape a better future.
Her sister Sienna, 8, on the other hand was a Grand Finalist and Multi-Medalist for the same categories. Sienna brought the audience to tears with her heartwarming rendition of “Castle on a Cloud” from “Les Misérables.”
“The sisters chose to represent the Philippines as a nod to their maternal heritage. Their dad is British. Their Filipino roots are entrenched in Aklan where their mother is a scion of the Mobo and Patricio political clan. They go home to Kalibo for the annual family reunion, take part in the famous Ati-Atihan Festival and spend time in Boracay and Batan to visit their ancestral home,” Mobo said.
Meanwhile, the parents of Altair Aguelo from Team Bamboo in “The Voice Kids Season 2” were from Tangalan, Aklan. Aguelo hails from San Diego, California, USA.
He is advancing to the sing-off competition after he was picked by his coach as one of the contenders for the Top 6./

Chinese professors to establish English Academy in Boracay

A group of Chinese professors is keen on putting up a Chinese academy in this resort island.

In fact, J Xaing Wang, Chief Executive Officer of Ciwong.com has started training Boracay-based Filipino teachers to take part in their program. While the training has already started, the English tutorial company has also started negotiating with the local government for its proposal.

The training for interested English tutors are being held at the Shangri-la Hotel here. Aside from Wang, the other Chinese professors are Mr. Ying Liu, Professor Yutu Gong, Zi When Lu and Ms. Jue Wang.

"We are placing the name Asian Pacific TESOL Society (APTESOL) for our academy. We are planning to lure not only Chinese to learn English but also countries in Asia Pacific as well," said Wang.

The said training program was also in collaboration with the Department of Education-District of Malay.

"We promise would be tutors to triple their income once the English academy has been officially established," he said.

Wind farm gets P7.9-M penalty for cutting trees

A wind farm in Aklan province has been penalized P7.9-million for illegally cutting trees.

Merlene Aborka, acting chief of technical division of the Aklan Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (PENRO), said PetroWind Energy Inc.’s (PWEI) paid P7.9-million as penalty fee to Western Visayas regional office of Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR-6).

“PetroWind has apparently cut trees illegally in protected areas in Malay town,” said Aborka.

“PetroWind asked for a permit to cut the trees, but did not wait for approval. That’s why it committed environmental violations,” added Aborka.

800

Some 800 firms along the highway of this resort island are affected by the road setback program of the local government of Malay.

Of the number, some 121 firms had already complied with the road setback plan while the rest are yet to follow.

Rowen Aguirre, representing the local government of Malay said that the road setback program is meant to ease traffic condition in this resort island.

"Under the road setback program, each establishment along the highway of Boracay should provide space for pedestrians and parking areas in their firms, This means that they had to self-demolish or face consequences," said Aguirre.

Aguirre said the local government is still finalizing the deadlines for establishments to comply. After the deadline, Aguirre said the local government may enforce demolition of illegal structures along the highway.