Stronger defense vs Boracay fire incidents urged

Members of the local crisis committee sees more defense is needed against fire incidents as this resort island’s economy continues to grow due to its booming tourism industry.

Fire Inspector Sidgie Gerardo, chief of the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP)-Boracay, said the fire that hit the local seafood market on Monday morning damaged goods initially placed at
P10 million.

The fire ithat took place in Sitio Mangayad, Barangay Balabag,  Boracay Island, damaged seafood stalls, restaurants and souvenir shops. The fire lasted around four hours.

“The amount may continue to rise as our investigators are still assessing the incident. The fire started in a restaurant,” he said.

He added that  it took firefighters that long to control the fire because of the crowded establishments and narrow roads leading to the fire scene.

Mike Labatiao, a consultant of the Aklan provincial government on security, said he hopes every resort in Boracay would place their respective water outposts and fire hydrants.

“I would recommend to the Aklan provincial government that each resort must place water outposts. I also saw huge improvements in our crisis management as every sector had to do their respective jobs well. The traffic was put into order; firefighters responded in time. It was a job well done,” said Labatiao, who attended the crisis committee meeting held at the Boracay Regency Hotel.

Sources said because of the fire incidents, several employees—mostly waitresses and staff­—had to be displaced by their employers as the damaged establishments take time to rebuild.

Randall Parker, an American expat and a coast guard auxiliary volunteer, said he opened his Boracay Crown Beach Hotel as a temporary shelter for fire victims for free.

“At least four families availed themselves of free rooms at my hotel. I am not allowed to showcase them for publicity, but hearing the stories of the fire victims. They deserve respite,” he said.

The Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office of Malay, Aklan, recorded at least 135 families displaced by the
fire incident.

Relley David, one of the owners of the burned establishments, said this is the third time his stall was gutted by fire.

“I had to rebuild again,” he said.

Boracay D’ Talipapa fire displaces 135 families

Over 135 families have been displaced after fire gutted their houses in Barangay Balabag, the Malay Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office (MSWDO) report showed.

The fire started around 4:40 a.m. yesterday at the wet market, known as D’ Talipapa, initial investigation revealed.

The cause of the fire has yet to be known.

Affected families were composed of 274 children and 224 adults, the MSWDO said.

The fire also destroyed souvenir shops, boardinghouses and food chains, among others.

The Bureau of Fire Protection of Boracay and Tangalan and Ibajay towns responded to the area.

A “fire out” was declared around 12 p.m.

No casualty was reported.

Mayor Ceciron Cawaling called the crisis management committee to look into the incident.

The affected residents evacuated to the barangay halls of Balabag and Manoc-Manoc.

The Boracay Island Special Fire Protection Unit was still investigating the blaze./

Boracay anti-terror measures boosted

Several foreign governments have pledged to assist anti-terrorism measures being put up at the resort island of Boracay in Malay town.

Boracay Island Administrator Rowen Aguirre said the United Kingdom and United States are willing to help the joint task force organized this year that aims to combat terrorism threats in the country’s premier beach destination.

“They have offered to help us in what we need. It may be in the form of training, donating firearms or other equipment for crisis management,” Aguirre said.

The Joint Task Force Boracay held several simulation exercises last week to test the responsiveness of the Philippine National Police (PNP), Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), and the crisis management team of Malay to respond to terrorist activities or emergencies.

Earlier this year, China donated an ambulance to Boracay.

Task force to hotel managers: ‘We’re ready for terror attacks’

(note: the video uploaded was just part of the drill by the joint task force: Boracay)

This island’s Joint Task Force assured general managers of several hotels that it was ready to respond to terror attacks.

The hotel managers were invited to watch the task force’s crisis management simulation at the Savoy Hotel in the Newcoast Station on Sept. 12.

Carmen Villanueva, general manger of the Fairways and Bluewater Newcoast Boracay, said the island’s preparedness for terror attacks was their top concern.

The managers said an episode of terrorism can “downgrade the tourism industry in Boracay.”

But after seeing the drill, Villanueva and other hotel managers were “convinced that the island security enforcers are ready to respond during an attack.”

“I will encourage other stakeholders to announce that Boracay is indeed safe,” said Villanueva, who was made to comment after the drill.

Wesley Van der Voort, a European hotel manager, said he will “spread the word” to his co-members in the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry-Boracay.

Representatives of the Shangri-la Resort and Spa Boracay, Crimson Resort and Diamond Water Sports, among others, attended the simulation.

The Joint Task Force members include the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Philippine National Police, Bureau of Fire Protection, Boracay Action Group, Philippine Coast Guard, and the local government of Malay, among others.

On the other hand, Peter Tay, a Filipino-Chinese volunteer of the Philippine Coast Guard, said Chinese tourist arrivals in the island will double in 2018.

“Right now, there are seven regular flights from China to Boracay. Next year, we can expect that there will be 14 flights from different provinces of China,” Tay said.

For his part, Lieutenant General Oscar Lactao, commander of the Armed Forces of the Philippines Central Command in Cebu City, said there was no terror threat in Visayas.

“All we wanted to do was to make everyone vigilant in Boracay,” Lactao said. “The residents of Bohol were vigilant enough to immediately inform the authorities about the presence of armed men in their area.”

Three Aklan towns vying for cityhood

The province of Aklan still has no city and at least three of its towns are looking to become one. They are the capital town of Kalibo, Malay and Nabas.

Nabas Mayor James Solanoy said they may also soon start planning to develop the town to become a city because of their fast economic growth brought about by the booming tourism industry.

Based in the town of Nabas are two multinational corporations. One is expanding the Caticlan Airport.

The Caticlan Airport from adjacent Malay town in Aklan is being operated by the San Miguel Corp. Another company is the Petrowind Energy Corp., a 50-megawatt wind-farm project in the province.

“We initially targeted a P9-million local government revenue for the year 2017. However, just from January to June, we already collected P24 million in local government revenue. This is a huge sign the economic progress of our town is unprecedented,” Solanoy said.

Aside from this, the town of Nabas has also received several requests from other multinational companies to invest in their town. The town is currently classified as a fourth-class municipality.

In June of this year, the Malay Council has revived their bid to become a city.

Malay Councilor Frolibar Bautista said he had already filed a resolution calling for the creation of a technical committee that will serve as a secretariat in preparing documents for the cityhood of Malay.

Boracay, which is under the geographical jurisdiction of Malay, is considered the country’s premier tourism destination.

The town of Kalibo, meanwhile, has been pushing for cityhood since 2007. Kalibo Mayor William Lachica said they still need to fill the requirements of population and geographical area to apply for cityhood.

“Kalibo town is doing its best to be declared a city,” he said, adding the town is famous for Ati-Atihan Festival.

Thank you!

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British embassy assures safety of tourists in Boracay

Representatives of the British Embassy and the National Counter Terrorism Security Office (NACTSO) met Wednesday afternoon with local government officials to discuss forging a partnership to establish counter terrorism measures.

Nenette Graf, president of the Boracay Foundation Incorporated (BFI) said the representatives also met with BFI officials.

The British delegation also held a separate security meeting with the local government officials of Malay, Aklan and the Task Force: Boracay.

The task force is a combination of units from the Philippine National Police, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Philippine Coast Guard, the Malay local government, among others.

"The British delegation only told us their best practices in the United Kingdom on counter terrorism measures especially in their business community and tourist areas. We are grateful for their support in Boracay," Graf, is also a member of the Sangguniang Bayan of Malay, told GMA News.

The British embassy brought NACTSO officials in this resort island as the British considered Boracay one of their favorite tourism destination in Asia.

Local officials maintained that there was no terrorism threat in Boracay.

In the data of the Malay tourism office, the tourism industry of Boracay is not affected by the war against terrorism in Mindanao.

Tourists arrivals in Boracay soared about 23 percent for the month of August 2017 with 144, 064 compared to the 117, 242 of August 2016.