Lucio Tan's company behind reclamation project in Kalibo - exec

The company of Filipino-Chinese tycoon Lucio Tan is behind the ongoing reclamation project at Barangay Pook in Kalibo town, Aklan, an official said.

Niven Maquirang, jetty port administrator, said the company is planning to start construction in the second half of this year.

The reclaimed area will be developed into a wharf for fastcraft bound for Boracay and vice versa, a hotel and fine dining restaurants, among others. The Pook reclamation is only a few meters away from the Kalibo International Airport.

It was learned that the project eyes to reclaim ten hectares in the coming years.

Earlier, the Aklan provincial government said that the Pook Reclamation Project would be converted into a Pook Ecological Tourism Development of the province.

SP mulls Aklan as home of retirees

Aklan is bidding to become a home for retirees both foreign or local.

The Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) recently approved a resolution declaring Aklan a retirement-friendly province.

Vice Gov. Reynaldo Quimpo, presiding officer of the SP, said the declaration could help lure investors to consider the province as a haven for retirees and establish related businesses.

Among others, the SP noted Aklan’s salubrious climate and hospitable people.


The Provincial Board also hopes to convince the Philippine Retirement Authority to put up a satellite office in Aklan.

PWDs, senior citizens to get priority in Boracay cruise tourism

The Aklan provincial government is planning to give Persons with Disability (PWDs) and senior citizens a "seamless travel experience" for them to enjoy Boracay.

Provincial board member Jay Tejada, chair of the Committee on PWD, said in an interview Tuesday that he met with Aklan Governor Florencio Miraflores to discuss the plan.

Miraflores recently arrived from a conference attended also by representatives from the Department of Tourism and the Royal Caribbean Cruise Ltd. (RCCL). The conference was held in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA.

At the conference, the RCCL, DoT and the Aklan provincial government represented by Miraflores forged a Memorandum of Understanding for the improvement of Caticlan "as a cruise ship hub in the country."

Tejada said that Miraflores told him that part of the MOU is to ensure that the Caticlan Jetty Port reaches international standard for cruise ship tourism.

"In the past, we received criticism that Boracay is not friendly to PWDs (and senior citizens). The Aklan provincial government is now starting to take massive action not only because of the urgent need. This is also timely since we are also asked by the national government to enforce the expanded benefits for PWDs," said Tejada, a PWD himself.

Boracay is the Philippines’ third largest cruise ship destination with 29 calls over the last four years. The list is topped by Puerto Princesa with 39 transits and 16 overnight stays, followed by Manila with 48 transits and five overnight stays.

Congress inspects Panay, Negros RoRo ports

House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez led a group of congressional representatives in inspecting the Strong Republic Nautical Highway or more commonly known as ports for Roll on-Roll off (RoRo) vessels in Panay and Negros Islands.

Accompanied by Representatives Rodolfo Fariñas of Ilocos Norte, Celso Lobregat of Zamboanga City and Cesar Sarmiento of Catanduanes, Alvarez first inspected the Caticlan Port, which is across world-famous Boracay Island in Malay town last March 18.

Alvarez discussed with Aklan Rep. Carlito Marquez that the improvement of RoRo ports can boost tourism.

“We anticipate the influx of tourists this Holy Week. We wanted to know the state of the ports. We are planning to put more budget allocation for the improvement of ports and the roads linked to it,” Alvarez said.

By March 19, Alvarez and the group proceeded to inspect the RoRo ports in the province and city of Iloilo.

Alvarez and the group also had meetings with Iloilo congressmen Jerry Treñas, Richard Garin, Arcadio Gorriceta, Arthur Defensor Jr., Ferj Biron, and Raul Tupas.

The RoRo port in Bacolod City, Negros Occidental was the last to be inspected.

'TokHang' surrenderees in W. Visayas urged to study carpentry for foreign work deployment

 A training school is calling those who surrendered in the government's anti-illegal drugs "Oplan TokHang" campaign in Western Visayas to study carpentry and masonry due to the anticipated need for such skilled workers abroad.

"We are anticipating that Japan may be needing more skilled workers to work for facilities for the Japan Olympics in the next few years. Aside from that we are anticipating a need from Guam, (USA)," Jefferson Quaimco, vice president of Golden Heroes School of Trade, said.

Japan is hosting the Olympics in 2020.

"We especially welcome those TokHang surrenderees in the region to learn. Unknown to many, we have already built a large hotel in Manila using the TokHang surrenderees last year who underwent training with us," he said.

The Golden Heroes School of Trade is the only accredited school of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) in Western Visayas under the Dual Training System (DTS).

They came here in Boracay over the weekend to campaign for applicants to enroll in their training school. Since Golden Heroes School was recognized in 2015, an Aklanon has yet to apply to avail their DTS course.

DOST to help rid Boracay of green algae

The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) is helping the Malay town government in Aklan rid Boracay Island of the green algae bloom.

DOST-Aklan Chief Jairus Lachica said Dr. Melinda Palencia, a professor and environmentalist from Adamson University, presented her program to the Malay Municipal Council.

Untreated wastewater is being blamed the resurgence of green algae along Boracay’s white beaches.

Lachica said Dr. Palencia invented the vigormin, an eco-friendly septic system (ECO-SEP) technology for treating wastewater.

The eco-sep is a deployable septic tank system that is based on the settling, aerobic digestion, and filtration of sewage/septic water.

According to Lachica, the eco-sep was first introduced in Boracay in 2015.

The eco-sep is now widely used in different tourist destinations such as Bohol and Palawan.

More Chinese tourists attracted to Boracay

BORACAY – In the first two months of 2017, Chinese nationals continue to dominate the tourist arrivals in this resort island.

There were 40,036 Chinese tourists recorded as of February, said Julfe Rabe, information officer of the Caticlan Jetty Port – the jump-off point to Boracay.

These Chinese were followed by the South Koreas at 37,511. Ranked third in tourist arrivals are the Taiwanese at 5,126.

As of Friday last week, Rabe said, they have monitored 174,783 overall tourists arrivals – .5 percent up from last year’s data 173,256 figures for the same period.

In recent past years, South Koreans were the top tourists in Boracay.

The other foreign arrivals for the month of February included the following:

* USA – 3,201

* Russia – 2,283

* United Kingdom – 1,974

* Australia – 1,727

* Malaysia – 1,675

* Canada – 1,368, and

* Sweden – 1,244.

Earlier, Niven Maquirang, jetty port administrator, said they were anticipating an increase in the number of Chinese tourists.

“This is because of President Rodrigo Duterte’s thrust to improve the country’s relations with China,” he said.

Meanwhile, the White Beach in this island ranked 24th among the 25 best beaches in the world, according to travel website TripAdvisor.

Boracay and the Ngapali Beach in Myanmar (25th) were the two Asian beach destinations that made it to 2017 Travelers’ Choice.

“Calm, warm waters, gently sloping sand … very relaxing, possibly the most beautiful beach in Asia,” was how the world’s largest travel site described the long-stretch of the White Beach.

The winning beaches were chosen based on the quality and quantity of traveler reviews on TripAdvisor in 2016.

Online petition to save Boracay from environmental degradation launched

An online petition is urging President Duterte to save Boracay Island, the country’s premier and world-renowned beach destination in the muncipality of Malay.

 The online petition on www.change.org, “A Call to Action to Save One of the World’s Best Island from Verge of Extinction” was initiated by Jay Garmino.

“The influx of tourists coming to the island drives more foreign developers that are potential risks to the sustainability of Boracay’s environment, ecosystems and natural resources,” Garmino warned.

 Garmino emphasized that the local government of Malay issued 296 new building permits last year and only within a period of three months.

 “This unsustainable tourism development contributes to coastal and ecological degradation, social and cultural dislocation, rapid growth of island population, rampant solid waste disposal and increasing numbers of illegal connection of sewerage disposal where some of this were thrown out at the shoreline of Bulabog beach,” Garmino lamented.

 The petitioner called on Duterte to abolish issuance of building permits in Boracay as well as regulate and limit the number of people as “the island is too small for the growing population.”