TF Boracay to enforce ‘first come, first served basis’ policy during long holiday

The Task Force Boracay will strictly enforce a “first come, first served basis” policy for both foreign and local tourists coming to the resort-island during the long weekend commemorating the All Saints’ Day on Nov. 1.
Niven Maquirang, administrator of Caticlan Jetty Port and task force member, said he met with representatives of the Philippine Coast Guard, Philippine National Police, other concerned agencies, and shipping companies to discuss the preparations for the coming holiday.
"K-9 dogs have been deployed as part of the measures to ensure the safety of tourists bound for Boracay," Maquirang said.
The jetty port is also managing the entry and exit of passengers who board the roll-on, roll off vessels arriving in Caticlan.
Nov. 1, which falls on a Friday, is regular holiday in observance of the All Saints’ Day

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2 restos, 4 resorts in Boracay padlocked for underpayment of taxes

Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) padlocked two Chinese restaurants and four resorts here for underpayment of taxes in the past years.

However, the BIR said the closure is only temporary as the owners have promised to pay their tax obligations.

Ordered closed under the “Oplan Kandado” campaign were the Boracay Peninsula, La Bresas de Boracay, Boracay Isle Hotel, Boracay Socorro Beach Resort, Hong Kong Seafood Restaurant, and Ge Lasi Restaurant.

The closed resorts are located at the front beach of this resort-island.

The BIR said the padlocked resorts failed to report 30 percent of their income in the previous years and their owners violated Section 17 of the Tax Code of 1997.

The padlocking of establishments Wednesday was led by BIR Deputy Commissioner Nelson Aspe.

Aspe said they are eyeing the closure of several other establishments here because of similar violations.

Boracay Island reaches 1M tourist mark early this year

-The jetty port administration in Caticlan, Malay town has revealed that this island-resort has attained one million tourists earlier this year compared to last year.

Niven Maquirang, jetty port administrator, said that from Jan. 1-Oct. 22, the overall number of registered tourists in Boracay already reached 1.141 million.

Data from the jetty port indicated that a Korean tourist was the one millionth visitor on Oct. 26.

Because of the increasing number of tourists here, the Aklan provincial government is confident of reaching its target 1.5 million tourists by year- end.

Maquirang said the number of tourists could have been higher if the Taiwanese government did not declare a travel ban to the Philippines early this year. The travel ban prompted travel operators in Taiwan to cancel their Boracay reservations.

This coming Nov. 4, the Superstar Aquarius of Star Cruises will bring to Boracay thousands of tourists coming from different parts of Asia.

Last Oct. 17, SuperStar Gemini arrived in Boracay from Xiamen, China with more than 1,200 passengers.

Drug pusher arrested in Boracay Island

A suspected drug pusher was arrested by police operatives in an entrapment operation in this resort-island Monday morning.

The suspect was identified as Jose Maria Antonio Kilayko, 41, a resident of Barangay Mandalagan, Bacolod City.

He was arrested at a resort in Sitio Cagban, Barangay Manoc Manoc.

Seized from him were P50,000 worth of suspected shabu, P1,000 entrapment money, mobile phones, and illegal drug paraphernalia.

Insp. Wilfredo Hofileña, team leader of the Aklan Police Provincial Office Intelligence Branch, said they conducted the operation in cooperation with the Boracay Tourists Assistance Center, Regional Anti- Illegal Drugs Special Operations Task Group, and the Aklan Provincial Public Safety Company.

"During the raid, we recovered several evidences leading to other suspected illegal drug users. Some of those names were 'familiar' to us and we will continue to investigate," Hofileña said, adding that they expect more arrests in the coming weeks.(

Man’s death mars cruise ship’s visit

 A Chinese national died as soon as an international luxury liner on a world tour docked in this island resort the other day.

Sixty-seven-year-old Xu Wen Yao of Shanghai, China, was one of the passengers of the SuperStar Gemini of the cruise ship line Star Cruises.

Xu succumbed to cardiac arrest, according to the police.

The SuperStar Gemini arrived in Boracay on Thursday morning, bringing in about 1,271 passengers, mostly Chinese nationals, and 937 crew members, including 350 Filipinos.

It came from Keelung, Taiwan. Aside from Boracay, the ship is also bound for the Philippine capital of Manila, Hong Kong, and Kota Kinabalu in Sabah, Malaysia.

The cruise ship was docking in the island when Xu had a cardiac arrest, police investigation said.

The medical personnel of the cruise ship applied basic life support to the Chinese national and rushed him to the Metropolitan Clinic here, police said.

Dr. Joana Dy, the attending physician, declared him dead due to a cardio-respiratory arrest.

For eight hours, tourists brought in by the SuperStar Gemini experienced Boracay through sightseeing and strolling at the white-sand beach, souvenir-hunting, and dining in fine restaurants, among others.

Philippine Navy and Philippine Coast Guard personnel secured the anchored ship while the police ensured the safety of the passengers while they were off the cruise liner.

The visit of the SuperStar Gemini marked the start of another cruise season for Boracay.

This world-renowned island resort is expecting another cruise ship visit — that of SuperStar Aquarius — in the next few weeks.

Cooperative links Boracay, Camiguin for climate change adaptation project

The Sangkalikasan Producers Cooperative (SPC) is linking two tourism destinations in the country for their advocacy on mitigating and adapting climate change.

Jojo Rodriguez of the SPC said their group is currently advocating for climate change adaptation strategy both in the island-province of Camiguin in northern Mindanao and this resort-island in the Visayas.

He said that SPC, in coordination with the municipal government of Mambajao in Camiguin, safely removed 16 illegally set fish traps in the island’s marine protected areas.

Fish traps are dropped on top of the coral reef or beside it. To recover the traps, these are towed by fishermen using long ropes across the coral reefs causing massive damage.

In Boracay, the SPC also partnered with Globe Telecom which donated a multi-cab vehicle to be used for mobilization in promoting the environmental sustainability of this resort-island.

"We are offering free use of the multi-cab for individuals or groups implementing environmental projects in Boracay," Rodriguez said.

Meanwhile, Rodriguez defended their group’s stance on the criticism of several sectors questioning their refusal to fully utilize the epoxy provided by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) for the coral reef conservation efforts.

"We are currently preparing for the DOST asexual reproduction program. We drilled holes on the reefbuds to accommodate coral fragments. With concrete nails and cable ties plus pre-drilled holes, there was no need for epoxy at all,” he said.

He added that it was decided that the epoxy would be used in the next planting season.