BORACAY WOES: Priest warns of tourism ‘damage’ if environment problems persist

“Boracay may be like the ruins in Marawi if the tourism industry fails due to environmental degradation.”

Father Jose Tudd Belandres fielded this warning amid environmental issues confronting this world-famous island.

Belandres – who is the island’s Catholic parish priest – said they have coordinated with Environment secretary Roy Cimatu to respond to Boracay’s environmental condition.

Belandres added that the island residents, especially the poor, will be “most affected” when the tourism industry bugs down. He said, “Stakeholders could just leave Boracay anytime and transfer to different destinations.”

By “stakeholders”, Belandres means some government officials and business owners in the island resort.

Just this month, the Office of the Ombudsman in Visayas issued an order removing from the service five senior officials of the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (PENRO).

The 18-page decision that Deputy Ombudsman for Visayas Paul Elmer Clemente penned dismissed PENRO head Ivene Reyes, PENRO supervising ecosystem management specialist Joanne Adaniel, PENRO land management inspector Alvaro Nonan, PENRO senior ecosystems management specialist Nilo Subong, and PENRO forest technician Cesar Guarino.

A few days after the suspension of the PENRO officials, residents in Barangay Manoc-manoc reported seeing a group of men working for the construction of a private resort in the island.

The private resort will have its own port, the residents added.

The men, whose names were not identified, allegedly said Cimatu gave them a “go signal” to build the private port.

The local government of Malay ordered to stop the construction after finding that it had no permits. It also ordered for the demolition of the already completed concrete structure at the beach.

Moreover, 15 trucks from Boracay have been discovered to have dumped septic waste in Barangay Tigayon, Kalibo, Aklan.

John Peter Madula, head of the enforcement section of the Solid Waste Management Service Unit of Kalibo, said his team along with some PENRO personnel inspected the area.

“Based on our initial investigation, the septic waste was dumped by the contractor of the Boracay Island Water Company, Inc., an Ayala-affiliated company,” Madula told Panay News. “The contractor started bringing the septic waste in Barangay Tigayon on Nov. 9.”

Madula added that his team could have not discovered the company’s activity if it were not for the report they received after one of the trucks spilled the waste on the road.

“This prompted us to investigate,” said Madula.

A representative from the Boracay Island Water Company, Inc. told Madula that they contracted the BP Truck and Hauling Services for the transportation of the biosolids, which were supposed to be used as organic fertilizer in an eight-hectare farm lot in Barangay Tigayon.

Currently, the local government of Kalibo is preparing charges for economic sabotage against Boracay Island Water Company, Inc.

Meanwhile, the local government of Malay and the Boracay Foundation, Inc. (BFI) has asked the Congress for a conference that will tackle Boracay’s environmental problems.

Malay councilor Nette Graf, also the BFI president, attended the conference in Manila and said she asked for additional budget to fund programs that will solve the island’s environmental problems.

“We know the problems already so they should provide Malay with a bigger budget. Our tourism receipt contribution last year was P48 billion but what’s coming back to us is merely P440 million, not even 10 percent of our contribution,” said Graf./

Miss Asia Pacific Int’l candidates in Boracay Island

Some 42 candidates of Miss Asia Pacific International were in this island resort last night for their evening gown competition.

Miss Asia Pacific International is the oldest beauty pageant in Asia. It started in 1968.

The evening gown competition was held in Movenpick Resort and Spa.

Gretchen Tan, an Aklanon LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) beauty queen, was the makeup artist of Philippine candidate Ilene Astria De Vera.

De Vera earlier won best in festival costume and got the second place in the pageant’s swimsuit competition.

Today, the candidates will head to Batangas for another pageant activity.

The coronation will be on Nov. 29 at the Newport Performing Arts Theater in Resorts World Manila.

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Police secure ASEAN cooperation meeting in Boracay

The Aklan Provincial Police Office (APPO) together with the Joint Task Force Boracay has expressed readiness to secure the holding of the Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN) in this resort island which started on Tuesday.

"We were told to expect 30-50 ASEAN delegates coming to Boracay. They will be discussing technical framework on Intellectual Property Cooperation," said SP01 Nida Gregas, APPO information officer.

She said the organizers informed the police only last minute of the holding of the ASEAN gab which would conclude on November 17.

The ASEAN meeting will be held at the Hennan Resorts here.

The Aklan PNP leadership convened at the Camp Pastor Martelino in Barangay New Buswang, Kalibo Monday afternoon to discuss security procedure for ASEAN.

"The Police Regional Office-Western Visayas has already sent 32 men to help augment police troops. Aside from the regional augmentation, the Joint Task Force: Boracay have already started securing the resort island.

The task force includes the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), Philippine National Police (PNP), Philippine Navy, and Philippine Coast Guard, among others.

"We appeal to tourists coming to Boracay to expect tighter security procedures upon their arrival at the jetty ports. The Joint Task Force: Boracay also regularly conducts patrolling at the beach," Gregas said.

5 cruise ships to visit Boracay

At least five cruise ships are expected to arrive in this resort island before the year ends, an official of the Caticlan Jetty Ports administration said Thursday.

Jetty port administrator Niven Maquirang said at least two of these cruise ships have already confirmed their arrival.

"The MS Millennium is expected to return to Boracay on November 21. The MS World Dream is also set to dock first time on November 22," Maquirang said.

The MS Millennium is the 11th cruise ship to arrive in Boracay this year.

The MS World Dream is expected to bring with it some 4,000 passengers and some 1,900 crews.

MS World Dream is also expected to stay for nine hours in the seas of Boracay.

Its passengers will be transported via a boat and will roam around different malls and souvenir shops in this resort island.

Boracay to host Nov. 14 ASEAN meeting

This resort island will again host the Association of Southeast Asian (ASEAN) meeting this November 14-17.

Rowen Aguirre, executive director of the Joint Task Force: Boracay (JTF), on Wednesday said security procedures had been discussed and task force members are now on red alert to ensure the safety of the arrival of both the organizers and ASEAN delegates in this resort island.

Members of the task force include the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Philippine National Police, and Philippine Coast Guard, among others.


"We are ready for deployment since we will be following what we have done during the ASEAN meeting held in this resort island February of this year," Aguirre said.


"The information as of this time is sketchy but we were told by the ASEAN organizers that Boracay will be holding the meeting on the ASEAN Intellectual Property Office," he said in an interview.

The venue will be held at the Hennan Resort in this island.

JTF Boracay undergoes training

Members of the Joint Task Force in this word-famous island underwent a two-day training on intelligence analysis, maintaining cyber security and combating foreign adversaries.

Federal Bureau of Investigation agent Alexander Gordon was the resource speaker of the training.

Gordon, who is also the assistant legal attaché of the United States Embassy in Manila, spoke before around 60 participants at the Eurotel Boracay.

The training was held from Oct. 24 to 25 and was organized by the local government of Malay, Aklan.

Participating Joint Task Force members include personnel from the Philippine National and its Special Weapons and Tactics team, the Philippine Army, the Philippine Navy, the Philippine Coast Guard, and their auxiliary and intelligence officers./

Bohol, Boracay named among top 10 destinations for kids in Asia

The province of Bohol and the island of Boracay had been included in the top 10 best destinations for kids in Asia.

The web site Poor Travellers said Bohol province ranked fifth, and the island of Boracay was at sixth.

The web site, however, cautions tourists coming to both Bohol and Boracay with kids to coordinate with the Department of Social Welfare and Development to ensure the welfare of the children.

The first in the lists was Tokyo, Japan, because of both its Disneyland and Disney Sea destination; followed by Hong Kong, which also has its own version of Disneyland. The third was Seoul, South Korea, and the fourth was Singapore for their Universal Studio.

The fifth was Bohol because of its tarsier.  It was followed by Boracay which features its white, beach and other water-sports activities.

The seventh was Osaka and Kyoto in Japan. No. 8 was Dubai in the United Arab Emirates; ninth was Bali, Indonesia; and tenth was Johor Baru, Malaysia.