Five sacks of white sand and pebbles confiscated at Caticlan Airport

Personnel of the Caticlan Airport in nearby Malay, Aklan reported of confiscating a total of five sacks of white sand and pebbles coming from this resort island.

Rodito Absalon, chief deputy officer of the Municipal Auxiliary Police (MAP), said that tourists are prohibited from transporting white sand as souvenirs.

White sand has been confiscated from a number of tourists at the airport.

"Some of them were placed in bottles while some were hidden in their bags. We have to return the items to the beach to sustain the environment of Boracay," Absalon said.

The MAP official said they continue to remind tourists not to try bringing home white sand as this will be confiscated.

ASEAN chief justices in Boracay on 2015

This resort island is being considered as the venue for the conference of the chief justices of the member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) for the year 2015.

Atty. Selwyn Ibaretta, Aklan provincial administrator, on Thursday said in an interview that the Philippine Supreme Court is currently starting preparations for the said big event.

The said meeting is scheduled on February 5-8, 2015. This is also in coordination with the ASEAN Law Association (ALA).

Ibaretta recently represented Aklan Governor Florencio Miraflores in a close door inter-agency coordination meeting at the Supreme Court-Manila for the proposed 2015 convention. The said meeting was headed by SC Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, the Department of Tourism, the local government of Malay and a representative from the Kalibo Regional Trial Court.

"The meeting is mainly focused on the possible activities of the chief justices once they arrived in this resort island for the 2015 meeting. Currently the possible activities are being finalized together with the DOT," said Ibaretta.

The Department of Tourism (DOT) is currently promoting Boracay as one of the convention hubs in the country.

Experts tests 'Pearl of the King' in Boracay

Pearl experts coming from the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) based in Bangkok, Thailand had officially conducted testing for the 'Pearl of the King' in Crown Regency Resort here.

English national Nicolas Sturman, manager on pearl identification of the GIA, said they came to test the pearl upon the invitation of the management of the resort.

The GIA has conducted the measure as one of the requirements of the Guinness Book of World Record to consider the pearl as the largest in the world.

The said resort is owned by Chinese- Filipino chairman Richard King.

"So far, we still need to do more testing to determine whether it is a pearl or a shell. No matter what, we still consider it as the largest in the world," said Sturman.

The current Guinness Book of World Record Holder is known as the 'Pearl of Allah' which weigh around six kilos. The 'Pearl of the King' weighs around 8.90 kilos based on the actual measurement of the GIA.

Both 'Pearl of Allah' and the 'Pearl of the King' were recovered in the deep seas of Palawan. The said pearl came from the tridacna family.

"I am sure that science still needs to do more research on the seas of Palawan as we received reports that it has large tridacna pearls," he said.

Diving experts found blue coral possibly endemic in Boracay

Diving experts in this resort island have expressed amazement to the so-called blue acropora as they are now considering the fact that it is only endemic to this resort island.

Jojo Rodriguez of the Sangkalikasan Producers Cooperative (SPC) said that they have been diving to different diving destinations in the country but they could not find similar coral species elsewhere.

The Acropora (Acropora sp) are found in a variety of shapes but are most commonly seen in the traditional elongated branch form. It is a hermatypic (reef-building) coral that forms large structures in the wild. It requires high lighting levels and high water flow.

"We had found some blue acropora. Others are a natural recruit while some are asexually reproduced,"said Rodriguez, adding that they still continue to explore possibilities that similar blue Acropora can be found in other diving sites.

The SPC had partnered with the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) through the so-called "Filipinovation" together with other sectors to build highly resilient corals in Boracay, Camiguin, Zamboanga and Subic.

In Zamboanga, the SPC had also partnered with the Western Command and Mega Sardines to assist in the rehabilitation and re-establishment of its tourism industry.

"Prior to the crisis, Zamboanga had a growth rate of 12 percent the highest in the Philippines. The task force will rehabilitate the damaged coral reefs of the top tourists destination- the pink island of Sta. Cruz," said Rodriguez.

Tsinoy owns largest pearl in the world

A Chinese Filipino (Chinoy) resort owner in this island is also the owner of what will be considered as the largest pearl in the world.

In an interview Monday, Richard King, chairman of the Crown Regency Hotel, said that a group of gemologists from the Guinness Book of World Records is expected to arrive here Dec.19-20 to formally inspect the said pearl he calls as the "Pearl of the Kings."

Guinness currently recognizes the six-kilo "Pearl of Allah" now in the United States as the largest pearl in the world.

"Based on our initial measurement, the "Pearl of the Kings" weighs around nine kilos and we are confident that we could be certified by the Guinness Book of World Records," King said.

He added that he inherited the pearl from his grandfather. It reportedly came from the waters of Palawan like the "Pearl of Allah."

Reports said that the "Pearl of Allah" also known as the "Pearl of Lao Tzu" was given by a Muslim chieftain in the 70s and was found by a diver at Brookes Point, Palawan.

"We have now decided to display the "Pearl of the Kings" at the oceanarium park in the Crown Regency Hotel as one of its attractions.

"Aside from the pearl, our oceanarium also boasts of having the longest oceanarium tunnel in the Philippines, having 30 meters length," King said.

The "Pearl of Kings" although big is not considered as a non-nacreous pearl having no iridiscence or sheen; thus it is not considered a gem stone.

It is said to have come from a giant clam which produces the so-called tridacna pearl.

2 hawksbill turtles released back to sea in Boracay

A boatman in this resort island surrendered a pair of hawksbill turtle to the officials of the Malay Agriculture Office (MAO) on Tuesday.

Felex Balquin, marine biologist of MAO, said the boatman has been using the two turtles as part of his attractions during his island hopping activities in Boracay.

"The boatman had surrendered the said hawksbill which is considered endangered after days of negotiations with him. Our office decided not to file charges against him because he positively coordinated," said Balquin.

One of the turtles measure 31 centimeters in length and 20 centimeters in width while the other one is 27 centimeters in length and 22 centimeters wide.

"We returned to the shore the two sea turtles after documentation and checking their health," said Balquin.

Business sector vows more help for Boracay Police

The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry-Boracay (PCCI-Boracay) vows more support to the Philippine National Police (PNP) here to ensure security in this resort island in the coming months.

Already, the PCCI-Boracay led by president Ariel Abriam turned over one motorcycle to the Boracay PNP in a turn- over ceremony held at the Boracay Tourists Action Center on Monday following flag ceremony of the Boracay Action Group in Barangay Balabag.

The motorcycle was requested by the PCCI-Boracay through a letter sent to the national PNP headquarter in Camp Crame.

"We have requested a motorcycle to enable policemen to easily respond during emergencies. We will continue to lobby for additional motorcycles," said Abriam.

Aside from the motorcycle, PCCI-Boracay is also committed to lobby for a patrol boat for the Philippine Coast Guard in this resort island through Public Private Partnership (PPP).

The PCCI-Boracay has been considered as one of the best chamber of commerce organizations by the PCCI national leadership this year.

Malay town restricts renewal of business permits for 2014

The local government of Malay announced Wednesday that it will not anymore entertain those establishments that refused to cooperate in the Task Force: Boracay Redevelopment this year.

Glen Sacapano, Boracay Island administrator, said that he had issued the community advisory Tuesday to immediately inform the concerned parties.

"Please be informed that beginning January 2, 2014 in line with the Executive Order No 014 series of 2013, the Municipality of Malay will strictly regulate the renewal of all business permits for the year 2014.

"Establishments that have received Notices of Violations and have not processed their compliance as evidenced by a certificate will no longer be allowed to renew their business permits," said Sacapano.

This is also true to those who do not have building permits and occupancy permits and were not allowed to apply.

The local government together with the Department of Tourism had recently issued the Certificate of Compliance to stakeholders in this resort island who followed the 25+5 meter rule of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

Other resorts questioned the said government policy at the local courts.

Sacapano said that other resorts should immediately start processing their respective requirements including the sanitary permits and health cards to avoid delay on the renewal.

Reefbuds in Boracay survive 'Yolanda'

The reefbuds project in this resort island survived the strong onslaught of the typhoon 'Yolanda' and will continue to provide hope in restoring coral reefs here.

Jojo Rodriguez of the Sangkalikasan Producers Cooperative (SPC) said that they have conducted assessment over the weekend on the survival of reefbuds project from the super typhoon.

The reefbuds project was funded under the assistance of Senator Loren Legarda, Department of Science and Technology and the Globe Network, among other partners.

It aims to restore damages on coral reefs under the 'Code:Blue Project.'

"At least 80-90 percent of our reefbuds project in Boracay survived the typhoon. However, all coral nursery units have been badly damaged and need constant repairs.

"The good news is our natural recruits increases by 60-80 percent and we documented growth of 0.5 inch to 2-4 inches. We also noted an increase of fish biomass in the area," Rodriguez said.

Aside from Boracay, the SPC, too, has a similar project in the province of Camiguin.

For her part, Virna Salac of the DOST Central Office in a telephone interview said that they are planning to expand the 'Filipinovation' project in other provinces in the country.

"Because of the success of the project, the DOST is planning to expand it in Coron, Zamboanga, Subic, La Union and Mactan. We will still continue the project in Boracay and Camiguin," said Salac.