Stephen Speaks concert to benefit Iloilo scholars

American band Stephen Speaks will be holding a concert in Iloilo in January and will be donating part of the ticket sales to scholars of one of the universities in the province, said the group’s concert organizer.

Paul Chatman was here Tuesday to check on the possibility for the band’s concert in this resort island this coming January.

"Aside from performing, Stephen Speaks will provide humanitarian efforts for many Filipinos. Among them are his exclusive meet ups at the Saxxys Bar and Grill in Iloilo," said Chatman.

The organizers will  give 15 percent from the proceeds of the ticket sales to the scholars of the University of San Agustin in Iloilo.

The band is also expected to visit the soldiers injured during the Marawi siege at the V. Luna Hospital in Quezon City during their Philippine leg concert this 2018, said the group’s concert organizer.

Stephen Speaks will perform before the Ilonggo crowd at the said University on January 18.

Aside from the Iloilo leg of the concert, Stephen Speaks will also perform in other key cities in the country, including Cebu and Davao.

The American band will also be performing in Manila on February 17 in Fort Bonifacio in Taguig City.

Stephen Speaks has long been known for their hit songs “Passenger Seat” and “Out of my League”.

The band first performed in the Philippines in 2005.

Aklan gov seeks permanent solution to Boracay flooding, environmental woes

Aklan Gov. Florencio Miraflores urged local engineers here to look for permanent solutions to the frequent flooding in this resort island and other environmental woes.

Miraflores said on Tuesday  that he already met with the Engineering District of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in Aklan and the Provincial Engineers Office to study permanent solutions.

“I was also told the Tourism Infrastructure Economic Zone Authority  will do its work for a drainage network in Boracay by January 2018. I have also instructed the engineers to study permanent solutions to the landslide-prone areas in Tulingon Road, Nabas, Aklan,” Miraflores said.

Residents in Nabas reported the hill in the Tulingon Highway was already leaking, thus causing frequent landslides during heavy rains.

During the  onslaught of Typhoon Urduja last Sunday, motorists, including tourists on buses bound to and from Boracay Island, were rerouted because of a series of landslide incidents in Nabas.

As a result, the local government of Nabas, Aklan, declared the town under a state of calamity on Monday.

“The flooding of Boracay and the frequent landslide incidents in Nabas may take longer-term solutions. We are doing it one solution at a time. The important thing for now is stakeholders in Boracay, residents, government and non-governmental agencies must be united to help minimize the effects of climate change,” he said.

Meanwhile, the local government of Malay, Aklan, is allocating P10 million for road-improvement projects for next year, said Jimmy Maming, executive assistant to the mayors office. Around 90 percent of the road networks in this resort island was submerged by flood as typhoon Urduja came near last Sunday.

“The budget was not yet enough to fill the road. We need the help of the Aklan provincial government and the DPWH for this endeavor,” Maming said.

Malay Councilor Nenette Graf said that, aside from floods, other Urduja-related incidents in this resort island were reported such as a fire incident fronting Balabbag Elementary School and a capsized boat where around 1,000 passengers were stranded both at the Caticlan and Cagban Jetty Ports.

As of this writing, the Boracay Island Water Co. reported a weeklong limited supply of potable water for this resort island as their reservoir has been affected by the floods.

A security guard from the Movenpick Resort was reportedly injured.

Meanwhile, Malay Mayor Ciceron Cawaling suspended all classes in the municipality Monday to give way to clearing operations brought by floods in Boracay and in mainland Malay.

He also commended different rescue volunteers, the Philippine Red Cross in Boracay and other organizations to stand guard against the Urduja onslaught. The province of Aklan has declared zero casualty after the typhoon.

Kalibo hotel association laments the decreasing number of visitors

The Kalibo Ati-Atihan Accommodation Association is lamenting the decreasing number of clients and has asked different government agencies to help them.

Gerwin Garcia, association president, said the decreasing number was attributed to the recent expansion of the Caticlan Airport in Malay, Aklan.

The town of Kalibo currently has around 1,200 rooms scattered from different hotels and inns.

“We observed a decrease  of around 70 percent of the number of clients from the previous years.  Despite the decrease, we note that the number of hotels in Kalibo is still increasing,” Garcia said.

The expansion of the Caticlan Airport in Malay has increased the number of its regular flights there, making other tourists to fly directly. For several years, the Kalibo International Airport was a major gateway to Boracay.

Although the Kalibo International Airport is currently being expanded, the expansion would still take three years.

The expanded Caticlan Airport was opened to the public during the last quarter of 2016.

“It is a good thing right now that hotels in Kalibo are picking up clients in time for the Kalibo Santo Niño Ati-Atihan Festival this January. We are worried about our fate after the Ati-Atihan revelry,” he said.

Already, several hotels reported dismissing several employees due to lack of clients.

“We have been in discussion with both the Aklan provincial government and the local government of Kalibo. We are proposing to make Kalibo an independent tourism destination, not dependent on tourists coming to Boracay,” Garcia said.

The Kalibo town has no “night life” to lure tourists to stay overnight in different hotels here.

Bodybuilders to gather in Boracay

Hundreds of bodybuilders are expected to come to this world-famous island for this year’s leg of the Boracay Bodybuilding Championships.

The contest is supported by different government agencies and private organizations.

Organizer Georgen dela Cuesta said the contestants are from all over the country and abroad.

“We also anticipate the arrival of different personalities in bodybuilding such as Rowena Walters,” dela Cuesta said on Wednesday.

Walters – who is an accredited judge of the International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness – is the president of the Philippine Committee of Bodybuilding and Fitness (PCBF). Her vice president, Mike Daude, will also be present during the event.

Felix Delos Santos, chief tourism officer of the Malay local government, and Isser Harrel Magbanua, alien control officer and the provincial chief immigration officer of the Bureau of Immigration, will be judging the bodybuilding competition, said dela Cuesta.

This year’s leg marks the 15th anniversary of the bodybuilding contest, which will be on Dec. 16 at Charlie’s Steakhouse and Diner in Station 1 of the island resort.

PCBF is the affiliated with the International Federation of BodyBuildng and Fitness (IFBB), the official governing body for the sport of bodybuilding and fitness recognized by the Olympic Council of Asia./

Officials optimistic 2 million tourists visit Boracay in 2017

The Aklan provincial government is confident 2 million tourists will visit this resort island this year.

Niven Maquirang, jetty-port administrator, said that early this year, they already targeted 2  million tourists to visit Boracay in 2017.

“From January to November 30 this year, we already registered 1.828 million tourists in Boracay,” Maquirang said.

Already, the figure is higher compared to that of 2016 year-round arrivals, which reached 1.7 million. This year’s tourist arrival is, so far, considered the highest number of tourist arrivals for Boracay.

“We are still monitoring data if we could indeed reach 2 million tourists this year. Once we reach the desired target, we could then study how many tourists we desire for 2018,” Maquirang said.

At least 10 cruise ships from all over the world visit the island every year, testifying to the potential of the island to  become a cruise-ship hub in the region.

Also, the continued awards received by Boracay as among the best beaches in the world is a factor for the increasing number of tourists in the island.

Recently, Boracay was named among the top 10 destinations for kids in Asia. At least two national pageants also hold their event here in Boracay—the bikini portion of the Miss World-Philippines and the evening-gown competition for Miss Asia Pacific International.

International Competition

Boracay resorts told to give discounts to seniors

A member of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) reminded resort owners in this island to give discounts to senior citizens.

SP member Nemesio Neron said due to the huge number of business establishments in the island, the provincial government finds it hard to monitor if all of them are giving discounts to senior citizens.

Under Republic Acts 9994 and 10645, senior citizens are entitled to several privileges and benefits, including the 20 percent discount in products and services like those in hotels and restaurants.

“Providing them proper services would make Boracay tourist-friendly for senior citizens,” said Neron, who is the chairman of SP committee on senior citizens.

Neron added that the SP members are willing to listen to the concerns and grievances of senior citizens coming to the island resort especially this Christmas season.