Aklan police in full alert for ASEAN youth program

The Aklan Provincial Police Office (APPO) has declared a full alert status to ensure the security of some 200 ASEAN Youth in this resort island.

Police Senior Superintendent Lope Manlapaz, newly installed acting provincial police chief, said on Friday that the Aklan police would beef up the security for the 200 youth delegates for the Ship Southeast Asia and Japanese Youth Programme (SSEAYP) International General Assembly in the island.

The activity will hold its closing ceremony of the program from April 28 to 30. <>The youth delegates are from Japan and Southeast Asian countries including Philippines, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia.

"Based on the coordinating conference we held, Boracay police will maximize their strength in the island security while APPO personnel and police stations will be augmented in convoy, route and traffic security to ensure the peaceful and orderly conduct of the international event," he said.

Major Events Security Framework (MESF) is the security to be implemented in the SSEAYP 2017 in Boracay as its proven effective during the APEC and the recent ASEAN in maintaining peace and order and security during the holding of meetings in different sites in the Philippines.

ASEAN youth delegates to enjoy Laboracay

Some 200 delegates attending the 29th Ship for Southeast Asian and Japanese Youth Programme (SSEAYP) International General Assembly (SIGA) 2017 are expected to enjoy the LaBoracay.

The local government of Malay in coordination with the Philippine National Police are preparing security measures to ensure that the participants will enjoy their stay in Boracay, said Rowen Aguirre, Boracay island administrator.

The 29th SSEAYP aims to unite all the youth leaders in the ASEAN.

The said event is expected to be held here on April 28-30.

"Based on their initial activities, they are coming to Boracay not only to discuss among themselves the concerns of ASEAN youth. They will also come here to enjoy Boracay through their socials to which is included in LaBoracay," Aguirre said on Wednesday.

The LaBoracay is one of the highlights of the fiesta in Boracay, which usually culminates on May 1 or Labor Day.

Aklan growth outlook rosy, says governor

he prospects for Aklan’s economy is bright, according to Governor Florencio Miraflores.

“We are experiencing leaps and bounds in economic development,” Miraflores said Governor during celebrations for Aklan Day, which marked Aklan’s separation from Capiz province 61 years ago.

Miraflores outlined key projects for the province which boasts the world-famous Boracay Island and the Ati-Atihan, acknowledged as the country’s “Mother of All Festivals.”

He said Boracay will soon become the home port for an international cruise liner.

Miraflores also mentioned the three-year upgrade for the Kalibo International Airport.

The National Competitiveness Council (NCC) ranked Aklan eighth for the provincial category of its 2016 competitiveness index.

The governor is confident Aklanons will soon reap the fruits of economic progress.

There have been complaints that Boracay’s tourism industry has not benefited locals, especially that majority of Boracay’s workforce are not Aklan natives. (With a report from Tara Yap)

Tags: Aklan, Aklan growth outlook rosy says governor, economic development, economy, Governor Florencio Miraflores, Manila Bulletin, mb.com.ph

Gina’s comments make Boracay execs defensive

 Local government and business leaders defended Boracay after Environment secretary Regina Paz “Gina” Lopez criticized the island’s tourism model as one that displaces the poor.

They hit back at the Environment department for allegedly failing to help Boracay with its environmental woes and lamented that such comment from a public official like Lopez could discourage tourists from visiting the island.

Mayor Ciceron Cawaling conceded that the island cannot be considered a tourism model.

But the local chief executive of Malay, Aklan — the local government with jurisdiction over Boracay — said what Lopez thinks about the island might turn off tourists.

“I hope the Department of Tourism would intervene,” he said.

While Boracay is worth billions of pesos, business establishments there have displaced its original inhabitants, according to Lopez.

“I don’t like Boracay … But the people who live in Boracay, where are they? They call them kulot (curly). They’re somewhere there in the mountain,” a report on ABS-CBNNews.com quoted her as saying in a business forum. “I don’t believe in that kind of tourism.”

“Economic growth is not genuine if it doesn’t result in social justice,” Lopez added.

In a live question-and-answer session on Facebook, Lopez said her ideal tourism model involves locals, especially indigenous people, benefitting from ecotourism.

“I don’t like the tourism of Boracay because the kulots (Ati tribe) are still in the mountains. That’s what I’ve been told,” a report on Inquirer.net quoted her as saying. “The people of Boracay are not benefiting, and it’s like they did not take care of the environment.”

Issuing such public statements against Boracay was a “conduct unbecoming” of the Environment secretary, said Dante Pagsuguiron, tourism committee chairman of the Sangguniang Bayan of Malay.

“We in the local government have been doing our best to fix the woes of Boracay,” Pagsuguiron said. “Instead of saying negative [things], the DENR (Department of Environment and Natural Resources) should do its job of helping Boracay conserve the environment.”

While the DENR acts on environmental concerns in the island, “Boracay must do more,” Boracay Foundation, Inc. (BFI) president Dionisio Salme said.

The DENR promised to help with coral restoration in Boracay but has not fulfilled it, claimed BFI marketing officer Raffy Cooper.

Game proves Boracay green algae a summer ‘staple’

What appears to be a traditional game among locals proves that green algae had been existent at the white-sand beaches in the island for a long time.

Residents young and old recently joined the “lumot battle,” which a local official organized to “revive” an activity diminished by modern entertainment.

Lumot is the local term for the green algae that grow prominently at the beaches during the dry season, also the “peak season” when thousands of local and foreign tourists flock to the island for summer excursions.

While many tourists are turned off by the slimy algae, locals actually revel at their presence, according to a town councilor.

Around 50 residents, young and old alike, joined the lumot battle — essentially, the players grabbed handfuls of the green algae and throw them at each other — that lasted around 30 minutes.

The lumot battle should remind the modern youngsters of what their ancestors played when there was no television or social media yet, said Sangguniang Bayan member Datu Sumndad of Malay, Aklan.

“The lumot battle has been a favorite [summer game] of Boracay children in the 1900s,” said Sumndad. “The practice has faded over the years because of technology. The young generation now should be reminded what was once a [cultural activity].”

Meanwhile Boracay Island administrator Rowen Aguirre said they plan to hold the lumot battle every dry season.

New film to show PH action vs climate change

The Philippines’ action on climate change is one of the highlights of “The Inconvenient Sequel,” a documentary that will soon be released worldwide.

“This is Part II of the famous documentary ‘The Inconvenient Truth’ by former US vice president Al Gore,” said Matt Bonns, international manager of the Washington-based Climate Reality Project, which Gore founded.

Of the one-hour-and-30-minute new documentary, “some 20 minutes of it relate to the Philippines’ action against climate change,” Bonns said in an interview on Wednesday.

“Gore visited the Philippines last year to see for himself the devastation brought by (super) typhoon ‘Yolanda’ in 2013,” said Bonns. “[The new documentary] will be shown in theaters in the US, Philippines and other parts of the world.”

Bonns and other Climate Reality Project teams arrived over the weekend to visit the family of the late former Aklan congressman Allen Quimpo, one of the advisers of Climate Reality Project-Philippines.

Quimpo, who died of liver cancer in December last year, and several others will be given an Environment Hero award on April 21 at the Senate, said Rodney Galicha of Climate Reality Project-Philippines.

Sen. Loren Legarda, environment committee chairwoman, is expected to hand over the posthumous recognition to Quimpo’s family.

“The awarding will be held a day before the global implementation of the Paris Treaty, to which the Philippines is a signatory,” Galicha said.

BIR-Kalibo targets P1.8B quota

The Bureau of Internal Revenue-Kalibo has been given a quota of PHP1.8 billion collection target for the year 2017.

In an interview Monday, BIR Kalibo acting district head Alexander Laroza expressed confidence to reach the target collection for this year.

Deadline for the filing of the income tax returns was moved to April 17 from April 15, which was a holiday.

"As of February this year, we were able to already collect some PHP20 million taxes," he said.

Laroza said the BIR-Kalibo was on the process of hiring additional 40 personnel to upgrade its services. To date, the BIR-Aklan has 40 staff.

"We need to have at least 80 personnel in our district. He said, of the 40 plantilla available, we need to fill in at least 12 immediate vacancies," he said.

The 12 immediate posts include six examiners, three collecting agents, two computer operators and an administrative aide.

Currently, the BIR is having problems with its Boracay satellite office as it could not yet issue a Tax Identification Number.

"On April 4, the BIR regional office has visited the satellite office in Boracay for it to be able to see the real situation. We are hoping that we could have an access to the Internet in the Boracay office soon,"he said.

BIR is also upgrading the satellite office in Boracay to have a quarters for its staff.

Algae not turning off Boracay tourists

Tourists do not seem to mind the algal bloom on the shores of this island resort, if their number is any indication.

A total of 167, 445 foreign and local visitors went to the island in March, Caticlan jetty port records showed.

The number was higher than the 156, 872 in the same month last year, said jetty port information officer Julfe Rabe.

“South Korea regained the top spot with 27,231, followed by China with 25,127,” he told this reporter on Friday. “Taiwan came in third place with 4,164.”

Chinese tourists dominated in number in January and February.

Curiously it was in March when the press again reported this year sightings of green algal bloom in Boracay.

The island waters remain safe for swimming, according to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

In an earlier interview, marine biologist Dr. Edgardo Gomez warned that the algal bloom may eventually drive tourists away.

“It is true there had been algal bloom in Boracay for years. It is also true that it is still safe for swimming,” Gomez said. “[But] I know that increasing tourist arrivals also translate to increasing presence of algal bloom every summer. A huge number of tourists [triggers] the multiplication of algae.”

Islands similar to Boracay, such as Maldives and Galapagos, are already regulating the number of tourists coming in, said Gomez.

“I get invited to several meetings of the Department of Tourism (in Manila) regarding Boracay, and I always tell them to limit the tourists,” he stressed.

The provincial government of Aklan aims to accommodate this year at least 1.75 million tourists, mostly in Boracay.

Boracay was also recognized as one of the top 10 islands in Asia this year by the travel website TripAdvisor./