Officials of three cabinet departments meet over Boracay situation

February 21, 2018

Top officials of the Department of Tourism (DOT), Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), and Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) met Wednesday as they stepped up efforts to rehabilitate Boracay.

“We are here to save Boracay, to restore Boracay to its original form, which used to be a paradise before,” Tourism chief Wanda Tulfo-Teo declared after its closed-door meeting with the DENR and DILG.

The Tourism Regional Office for Western Visayas gave updates of activities by the DOT VI Boracay Compliance Monitoring Office, DOT VI Boracay Field Office, and the Malay Municipal Tourism Office.

“It is business as usual in Boracay Island as tourist traffic remains relatively similar or heavier as compared to the past days and weeks,” Tourism Regional Director Helen Catalbas said.

Catalbas added that booking cancellations are insignificant and only twelve accommodation establishments with only 64 rooms and 192 visitors have reported cancellations.

DENR embarked on the Operation Plan: Regain Paradise with the mission to rehabilitate the damaged ecosystems of Boracay Island and conserve its natural and tourism values for future generations.

“I’m going to Boracay Thursday bring my personnel to augment the operations or performance of clearing the drainage system of Boracay which is really first phase of our operations in DENR,” Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu said.

“We will make sure that those who are responsible or accountable to what happened to Boracay will be meted out with appropriate sanctions so there will no repeat of whatever happened in Boracay,” DILG Officer-in-Charge Eduardo Año added.

An ocular inspection of Boracay is scheduled on March 2 with some senators and the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH). DMS