TF Boracay to enforce ‘first come, first served basis’ policy during long holiday

The Task Force Boracay will strictly enforce a “first come, first served basis” policy for both foreign and local tourists coming to the resort-island during the long weekend commemorating the All Saints’ Day on Nov. 1.
Niven Maquirang, administrator of Caticlan Jetty Port and task force member, said he met with representatives of the Philippine Coast Guard, Philippine National Police, other concerned agencies, and shipping companies to discuss the preparations for the coming holiday.
"K-9 dogs have been deployed as part of the measures to ensure the safety of tourists bound for Boracay," Maquirang said.
The jetty port is also managing the entry and exit of passengers who board the roll-on, roll off vessels arriving in Caticlan.
Nov. 1, which falls on a Friday, is regular holiday in observance of the All Saints’ Day

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2 restos, 4 resorts in Boracay padlocked for underpayment of taxes

Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) padlocked two Chinese restaurants and four resorts here for underpayment of taxes in the past years.

However, the BIR said the closure is only temporary as the owners have promised to pay their tax obligations.

Ordered closed under the “Oplan Kandado” campaign were the Boracay Peninsula, La Bresas de Boracay, Boracay Isle Hotel, Boracay Socorro Beach Resort, Hong Kong Seafood Restaurant, and Ge Lasi Restaurant.

The closed resorts are located at the front beach of this resort-island.

The BIR said the padlocked resorts failed to report 30 percent of their income in the previous years and their owners violated Section 17 of the Tax Code of 1997.

The padlocking of establishments Wednesday was led by BIR Deputy Commissioner Nelson Aspe.

Aspe said they are eyeing the closure of several other establishments here because of similar violations.

Boracay Island reaches 1M tourist mark early this year

-The jetty port administration in Caticlan, Malay town has revealed that this island-resort has attained one million tourists earlier this year compared to last year.

Niven Maquirang, jetty port administrator, said that from Jan. 1-Oct. 22, the overall number of registered tourists in Boracay already reached 1.141 million.

Data from the jetty port indicated that a Korean tourist was the one millionth visitor on Oct. 26.

Because of the increasing number of tourists here, the Aklan provincial government is confident of reaching its target 1.5 million tourists by year- end.

Maquirang said the number of tourists could have been higher if the Taiwanese government did not declare a travel ban to the Philippines early this year. The travel ban prompted travel operators in Taiwan to cancel their Boracay reservations.

This coming Nov. 4, the Superstar Aquarius of Star Cruises will bring to Boracay thousands of tourists coming from different parts of Asia.

Last Oct. 17, SuperStar Gemini arrived in Boracay from Xiamen, China with more than 1,200 passengers.

Drug pusher arrested in Boracay Island

A suspected drug pusher was arrested by police operatives in an entrapment operation in this resort-island Monday morning.

The suspect was identified as Jose Maria Antonio Kilayko, 41, a resident of Barangay Mandalagan, Bacolod City.

He was arrested at a resort in Sitio Cagban, Barangay Manoc Manoc.

Seized from him were P50,000 worth of suspected shabu, P1,000 entrapment money, mobile phones, and illegal drug paraphernalia.

Insp. Wilfredo Hofileña, team leader of the Aklan Police Provincial Office Intelligence Branch, said they conducted the operation in cooperation with the Boracay Tourists Assistance Center, Regional Anti- Illegal Drugs Special Operations Task Group, and the Aklan Provincial Public Safety Company.

"During the raid, we recovered several evidences leading to other suspected illegal drug users. Some of those names were 'familiar' to us and we will continue to investigate," Hofileña said, adding that they expect more arrests in the coming weeks.(

Man’s death mars cruise ship’s visit

 A Chinese national died as soon as an international luxury liner on a world tour docked in this island resort the other day.

Sixty-seven-year-old Xu Wen Yao of Shanghai, China, was one of the passengers of the SuperStar Gemini of the cruise ship line Star Cruises.

Xu succumbed to cardiac arrest, according to the police.

The SuperStar Gemini arrived in Boracay on Thursday morning, bringing in about 1,271 passengers, mostly Chinese nationals, and 937 crew members, including 350 Filipinos.

It came from Keelung, Taiwan. Aside from Boracay, the ship is also bound for the Philippine capital of Manila, Hong Kong, and Kota Kinabalu in Sabah, Malaysia.

The cruise ship was docking in the island when Xu had a cardiac arrest, police investigation said.

The medical personnel of the cruise ship applied basic life support to the Chinese national and rushed him to the Metropolitan Clinic here, police said.

Dr. Joana Dy, the attending physician, declared him dead due to a cardio-respiratory arrest.

For eight hours, tourists brought in by the SuperStar Gemini experienced Boracay through sightseeing and strolling at the white-sand beach, souvenir-hunting, and dining in fine restaurants, among others.

Philippine Navy and Philippine Coast Guard personnel secured the anchored ship while the police ensured the safety of the passengers while they were off the cruise liner.

The visit of the SuperStar Gemini marked the start of another cruise season for Boracay.

This world-renowned island resort is expecting another cruise ship visit — that of SuperStar Aquarius — in the next few weeks.

Cooperative links Boracay, Camiguin for climate change adaptation project

The Sangkalikasan Producers Cooperative (SPC) is linking two tourism destinations in the country for their advocacy on mitigating and adapting climate change.

Jojo Rodriguez of the SPC said their group is currently advocating for climate change adaptation strategy both in the island-province of Camiguin in northern Mindanao and this resort-island in the Visayas.

He said that SPC, in coordination with the municipal government of Mambajao in Camiguin, safely removed 16 illegally set fish traps in the island’s marine protected areas.

Fish traps are dropped on top of the coral reef or beside it. To recover the traps, these are towed by fishermen using long ropes across the coral reefs causing massive damage.

In Boracay, the SPC also partnered with Globe Telecom which donated a multi-cab vehicle to be used for mobilization in promoting the environmental sustainability of this resort-island.

"We are offering free use of the multi-cab for individuals or groups implementing environmental projects in Boracay," Rodriguez said.

Meanwhile, Rodriguez defended their group’s stance on the criticism of several sectors questioning their refusal to fully utilize the epoxy provided by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) for the coral reef conservation efforts.

"We are currently preparing for the DOST asexual reproduction program. We drilled holes on the reefbuds to accommodate coral fragments. With concrete nails and cable ties plus pre-drilled holes, there was no need for epoxy at all,” he said.

He added that it was decided that the epoxy would be used in the next planting season.

South Korean fugitive nabbed in Boracay

 A South Korean wanted for embezzling money in his country has been arrested by operatives of the Boracay Tourist Action Center here.

Kim Jinsoo was collared in this resort island for a different case, though. He failed to pay the resort where he had been staying, said PO3 Christopher Mendoza.

“As soon as he was arrested, we checked his background. We discovered that he was a fugitive in South Korea,” said Mendoza.

The policeman did not identify the resort that complained against Jinsoo but said the South Korean’s bill reached P21,000.

Jinsoo will be deported to South Korea.

When converted to Philippine peso, the money that the suspect allegedly embezzled there reached some P125 million, said Mendoza.

Park Yong Jeung, consul and police attaché of the Embassy of the Republic of South Korea, confirmed that Jinsoo faces an embezzlement case in their country.

Aklan vice guv seeks more funding for agri

Aklan Vice Gov. Gabrielle Calizo-Quimpo is seeking more budget for the implementation of more agriculture programs in the province to ensure food security.

Demand for food continues to grow because this resort-island is considered a premier tourism destination, she said.

Quimpo said that she will seek an increase in the budget for agriculture from the provincial government and the Sangguniang Panlalawigan during the deliberation for the 2014 budget.

"We have an increasing demand for agricultural products for Boracay and we need more funds for agriculture to cope with the shortage of food supply,” Quimpo said.

The tourism sector here currently sources fruits and vegetables from other provinces such as Iloilo, Capiz, Antique, Guimaras, and Davao.

A report of the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS) for August 2013 showed that agricultural harvest in the province is limited due to bad weather condition.

Limited harvest was reported by both the farmers and fishermen in the past weeks. Aklan continues to be a net importer of cattle, hog, dressed chicken and table eggs.

However, rice supply is expected to increase in the remaining quarter of the year due to the introduction of a new seeds to the farmers.

Malay town to start construction of Boracay bridge in 2014

The municipal government of Malay, Aklan is bent on starting the construction of the Boracay bridge next year.

Officials of Malay said the proposed bridge will be built between the Tabon Port in Barangay Caticlan and Tambisaan Port in Barangay Manoc- Manoc in Boracay.

However, because of limited funding, the local government hopes to construct the bridge gradually depending on fund availability.

The plan to construct a bridge for Boracay is considered a priority project of the Municipal Planning and Development Office.

Local officials said they have already started to put structures at the Tabon Port as part of the preparation for the bridge construction.

The Tabon Port is being used as an alternative jump off from Caticlan going to Tambisaan Port during the monsoon season.

Environmental advocates and tourism officials have expressed opposition to the bridge project.

Tourist police tell visitors to be vigilant against theft

The Boracay Tourist Assistance Center (BTAC) of the Philippine National Police has warned tourists and residents here to be vigilant against petty criminals.

The warning came after the Holy Rosary Parish at Barangay Balabag was robbed by unidentified men. The parish administration said the perpetrators carted away a few bills and coins from the donation box.

Insp. Fidel Gentallan, BTAC deputy police chief, said they are conducting intensive intelligence gathering and monitoring as the Christmas season approaches.

"We have already deployed police in civilian clothes and tourist marshals in strategic areas in Boracay to minimize, if not eradicate cases of theft," Gentallan said.

Despite the series of reported theft cases, the police said Boracay remains peaceful with the absence of major robbery incidents. Most of the victims of theft cases were foreigners.

"We also need the help of the residents to help us in our fight against criminals by giving us information," Gentallan added.

Boracay mourns death of businesswoman-environmentalist

The local government of Malay, Aklan, Boracay Foundation Inc. (BFI) and other stakeholders in this resort- island paid tribute to businesswoman and environmentalist Loubelle Cann who died of lung cancer recently.

Nette Aguirre-Graf said they consider Cann a great loss to their environmental advocacy.

In September 2012, Boracay environment advocate Noel Talamisan had also died of lung cancer. "We often ask ourselves why Boracay environmentalists are inflicted with cancer diseases. I myself survived the pains of cancer. Is it toxic to love Boracay?" said Aguirre.

Cann served as president of the BFI for three years. It was during her term that their group fought for several environmental advocacies, particularly the opposition to the reclamation project of the Aklan provincial government.

Their protest actions led the Supreme Court to issue a temporary environmental protection order against the project.

The local government of Malay, Aklan has recognized the works of Cann for Boracay through a resolution passed and unanimously approved by the Municipal Council.

PHL water potability affected by climate change – LWUA chief

The potable water condition of the Philippines is no doubt affected by climate change, said Rene Villa, chairman of the Local Water Utilities Administration.

In an interview here, Villa said the LWUA has already submitted its report to the Climate Change Commission.

"Right now, we are not focusing our efforts on water sustainability. We are instead putting emphasis on the sanitation quality of our water system all over the country," Villa said.

He urged residents in the countryside to source water from the river instead of relying on water pumps.

Among the cities in the country whose potability of water have been affected by climate change are Cebu and Iloilo.

"We consider water as the next important jewel of the world. We in the LWUA are exerting our efforts to provide every Filipino people the important water resource," Villa said.

Report said that only 63 percent of the Filipinos have access to potable drinking water supply while the rest is being considered “self-sufficient.”

Boracay Aetas renew appeal for arrest of their spokesman's killer

Ati tribe leaders in this resort-island have renewed their appeal to President Benigno Aquino III and the Philippine National Police (PNP) for the arrest of the suspect in the killing of their spokesman early this year.

In a statement, the Aetas said their lives continue to be threatened while the suspect remains at-large.

The Aklan Provincial Prosecutor’s Office has recently indicted suspect Daniel Celestino, a security guard of a resort here.

"The Aquino administration and the PNP has promised us that they will exert all efforts to give us justice on the killing of Dexter Condez. Yet, seven months after Condez was killed, the suspect remains at-large," the Aetas said.

The manifesto was signed by tribal leaders of the Boracay Ati Tribal Organization, namely Delsa Justo, their chieftain, together with Perla Tamboon, Marina Francisco, Elsa Tamboon, Lourdes Tamboon, Armando Conching, Evangeline Tamboon, Maria Tamboon and Jocelyn Evangelio.

"The question we have been asking ourselves is, as an Ati, is there a space for justice for us?," the signatories asked.

Police said they are eyeing land dispute as the primary motive in the killing of Condez.

Celestino together with his lawyers had earlier talked to the media here, denying his involvement in the killing.