DENR defers Boracay waste projects

 San Miguel Corporation (SMC) is eyeing more projects for this resort island based on documents the company presented during the Boracay Island inter-agency task force (BIATF) principals’ meeting here.

Among the projects in the pipeline are the 17-kilometer solid waste and sewage conveyance and the bulk water pipe conveyance systems.

The undertakings are lumped together under the Boracay Environmental Infrastructure Project, which aims to provide a sustainable environment program to address solid and liquid waste management issues.

However, Secretary Roy Cimatu of the Department of the Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has ordered the deferment of projects to see if they will “contribute or compliment our rehabilitation programs in the island.”

The SMC projects have been approved by local environment committees.

Cimatu chairs the BIATF which was created to spearhead the rehabilitation of the resort island dubbed as one of the best in the world.

The government closed Boracay for six months in 2018 to allow it to recover from the despoliation caused by untrammeled tourism activities.

Prior to the closure, the water surrounding the island was found to have high levels of coliforms.

In 2019, SMC proposed to build a bridge linking Boracay to the main island of Aklan, but the project was opposed by several stakeholders since it was seen to bring in more tourists than the island can handle.

“The Boracay bridge project proposal is still there. We are still awaiting results of the study of its possible environmental impact,” Cimatu said.

Boracay tourists urged use of Aklan QR code

 The provincial government of Aklan on Wednesday announced that it is still urging tourists going to Boracay to use the Aklan QR Code amid the availability of another system known as the S-Pass.

The S-Pass is a travel management system that was recently approved for use by the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID).

According to Aklan Governor Florencio Miraflores, tourists are already aware of the use of the QR Code and noted the convenience it brings to the province on maintaining the local management system.

The S-Pass, on the other hand, was developed by the Department of Science and Technology (DoST) for the use of the locally stranded individuals (LSI) and travelers as a contact tracing system during the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.

“Right now, we already perfected the Aklan QR Code and our validating teams are now quick in their response time for tourists wanting to go to Boracay,” Miraflores said.

A tourist going to Boracay must register at the QR code found at the website of www.aklan.gov.ph and after accomplishing the forms, tourists should email it to the province and wait for validation.

Upon validation, tourists must present the copy along with the negative swab test and hotel bookings at the Caticlan Jetty Port.

Meantime, Engr. Rowen Gelonga, regional director of the DoST in Western Visayas, said they have already started introducing the S-Pass system among the several local government units (LGU) in the region including the province of Aklan.

“Each local government will be given an account of the S-Pass. Their personnel will be trained on how to use this. This way, the LGU will be able to maximize the use of the S-Pass,” Gelonga said.