Fire hits Boracay

A FIRE damaged several commercial establishments in Boracay Island Friday afternoon, March 29.

Senior Fire Officer 1 Ricky Domingo, chief of the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) intelligence division, said the fire broke out around 2 p.m. and it was put under control an hour after.

"The fire incident reaches second alarm, which means that all available fire station in the adjacent areas should respond," said Domingo.

The area hit was located in front of the Citymall.

Domingo said the BFP is still conducting an investigation to determine the amount of damage caused by the fire.

Last February, a fire also broke out in a residential area in Bulabog beach.

"For this month of March, as we commemorate the Fire Prevention Month, we recorded five fire incidents in the different municipalities of Aklan, including in this resort island," Domingo said.

In the fire incidents recorded, at least one person died: Celedonio Beltran, 84, of Barangay Agmalig, Libacao, Aklan.

Domingo said the incident happened March 26, when a grassfire hit Libacao town.

Villar urged barangays to be disaster resilient

BORACAY Island -- Senator Cynthia Villar urges barangay officials of Cebu to become barangay resilient as the Philippines is considered one of the vulnerable countries in the world in terms of disaster.

This was the gist of the message given by the senator during the 2019 Cebu Provincial Liga Congress held at the Paradise Garden and Convention Center Thursday morning, March 21.

This year’s theme was “Environmental Rehabilitation and Preservation: A Step towards a Resilient, Livable and Sustainable Barangay.”

“The Philippines experiences at least 20 typhoons annually. Some of them were destructive such as Typhoons Ondoy and Yolanda. The barangay is in the front line of disasters. Barangay officials can do simple steps to help preserve the environment,” she said.

Among these simple steps include planting both mangroves and or bamboo.

She also encourages the use of compost pit that produces organic fertilizer.

“Almost a 100th percent of barangays with mangroves plantation has survived the destruction of strong typhoons. Bamboos can also be used as a cheaper source of building houses and chairs,” she added as chair of the committees on agriculture, food security including environment.

Villar also added that while many farmers in the barangays are worried over the soil degradation, she said she received a report from the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization that compost pit is the simple solution.

“The Bureau of Soil is giving out free equipment for compost pit. All the barangays should do is to request by writing a letter,” she said.

For his part, Celestino Martinez III, Liga ng Barangay President Visayas (Cebu City) said the barangay officials in Cebu has chosen Boracay Island as their venue as a model for rehabilitation.

“There are also many tourism areas in Cebu which also has concerns on environmental conservation. We are looking Boracay as a model for environmental sustainability,” he said.

The convention was participated by around 600 officials coming from the different barangays of Cebu.

Legarda Tells French Senators: Boracay Rehab Example of Political Will

Senator Loren Legarda shared with visiting French senators the government’s successful efforts to rehabilitate the island of Boracay, stressing that political will to implement laws was key to its success.



On behalf of the Philippine Senate, Legarda, Chair of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations and President and Founding Member of the Philippines-France Parliamentary Association, hosted a delegation of French senators in Boracay on March 2. The French delegation was composed of Senators Jacky Deromedi, Simon Sutour, Philippe Mouiller, and Jerome Durain.



“I am proud to share with fellow parliamentarians from France the successful story of the rehabilitation of one of the world’s most famous tourist destinations. The story of Boracay Island is an example of how our laws are effective if leaders in the Executive have the political will to implement what we legislate,” said Legarda.


The French senators were briefed by Boracay Inter-agency Rehabilitation Management Group General Manager Natividad Bernardino, Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Asec. Manuel Felix, and Department of Tourism (DOT) Usec. Arturo Boncato on the changes that were implemented for the 6-month intensive rehabilitation of the island last year.

 Legarda said that among the steps taken for the Boracay Island rehabilitation include water quality testing and improvement, removal of structures, banning of pets and smoking, banning of single-use plastic and plastic bottles, proper disposal of liquid and solid waste, mangrove and seagrass reforestation, the improvement of biodiversity and wetlands, implementation of carrying capacity, and implementation of the Ecological Solid Waste Management Law, which Legarda authored.

 “Boracay’s successful rehabilitation is an example of political will, strong leadership, and cooperation among stakeholders. It is still a work in progress and much still has to be done, but it is a good start. Vigilance in the implementation of environmental laws is important,” said Legarda.

 “Our government is taking action to do the same in other beach and tourist destinations in the country, including the Manila Bay. Aside from the strict enforcement of our environmental laws, we also need everyone’s cooperation. There needs to be a change in the mindset of our citizens. We must all realize the importance of sustainable development and embrace our responsibility as stewards of our natural resources,” Legarda concluded.***