By Analou de Vera, Tara Yap, and Rey Panaligan
The world-famous Boracay resort island will be closed effective today to pave the way for its six-month rehabilitation.
Thousands of tourists leave Boracay Island yesterday, April 25, 2018, as the Island will close today, April 26, 2018 for 6-months to make way for a rehabilitation and demolition of establishments that violated the 25+5 easement. (Photo by: Juan Carlo de Vela) mbnewspictures / mbnewspix
President Duterte, who had described the premier beach destination as a “cesspool,” ordered its closure following the recommendation of the Inter-Agency Task Force consisting of the Tourism, Environment, and Interior and Local Government departments.
In preparation for the shutdown, government security forces and disaster workers staged drills in riot gear on Wednesday, startling the laid-back beach community as workers mounted a last-ditch effort to halt the six-month closure by asking the Supreme Court (SC) to issue a temporary restraining order (TRO).
Combined forces and assets of the Philippine National Police (PNP), Philippine Army (PA), Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), Philippine Navy (PN), Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), and the disaster management team of Malay town responded to scenarios of controlling protesters, the entry of terrorist elements, hostage situation, and rescue operations.
“It was a little disturbing,” said Sebastian Lopes, a 14-year-old British-Indian who is on vacation with his family.
“This morning, we saw a helicopter go past us. My mom said it was a bit scary. I thought it was also scary. We thought Boracay would be close down for renovation but we weren’t really sure why the helicopter was going around,” Sebastian told Manila Bulletin before taking a swim.
“This is a little adversarial. We’ve reading in the Lonely Planet how nice Boracay is, but this is not what we expected,” added Sebastian.
“I don’t think it’s necessary. I don’t understand why there are so many police officers,” echoed Elizabeth Smith.
“It’s very strange. This doesn’t happen in other places,” the 24-year-old from England added while recalling that she never saw so many cops in other beach destinations she visited in Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Malaysia.
Other tourists believe otherwise.
“It’s better the police and military people are here than no one. It’s for security. I can ask them for help when I need help,” said Feller Frederic of Switzerland. The 28-year-old even said that there were cops and military deployed while they were in Paris, France last year to avert any terror threats.
“I was alarmed there were so many soldiers and police,” resident Dory Gaitano told AFP. “I thought they'll be only demolishing establishments with violations. Why are there countless soldiers?”
“I’m not a bit scared at all. If anything, I feel safer,” added Kim Paulding from Australia
A.C. Saldo from Bacolod City pointed out that there’s a need for more security forces as it is still uncertain what will happen during the closure.
Court battle
While the government security forces were simulating clashes, a very real clash was brewing asresidents and workers ask the High Tribunal to temporarily halt the closure.
“It is, mainly, a constitutional challenge to the powers of the executive to arbitrary decision making,” their lawyers said in a statement.
“If Boracay is closed to tourists, they will lose their source of income, and they would not be able to feed their families.”
In their petition, filed through the National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL), they said the abrupt closure of Boracay would render more than 17,000 hotel, restaurant, and other tourism workers, plus about 11,000 construction workers jobless.
“Boracay Island is heavily dependent on tourism. If you take that away from them, it would deprive the people there of their livelihood. The Duterte administration can casually say that it will close Boracay for six months, but that sudden move also means thousands of families will be deprived of income and go hungry. The measure does not take into account their plight. The closure of Boracay must be fair to all,” it stressed.
The petition also said that the closure of Boracay to tourists and non-residents violates the peoples’ right to travel guaranteed under Section 6, Article III of the 1987 Constitution.
“Imposing restrictions upon persons visiting Boracay Island or depriving persons earning a living therein, even though they have not been found guilty of violating environmental laws, is arbitrary, whimsical, and unreasonable intrusion into individual rights, and a violation of the right to due process,” it stressed.
It pointed out that any order of the President “whether verbal or written that curtails or limits the enjoyment of fundamental rights can never be valid and must be struck down by the courts if it finds no statutory or constitutional basis.”
But as of press time Wednesday, no TRO has been issued by the SC. The High Tribunal will hold a full court session today to tackle the release of the 2017 bar examinations, but it was not immediately known if the Boracay petition will be taken up.
Amid criticisms, the PNP maintained that the presence of 600 security forces is a precautionary measure.
“On the contrary, I think this would be a positive effect. The people will feel they are secured in the island,” said PNP Deputy Director General Fernando Mendez Jr.
“The very reason we are deploying additional forces is to make sure that the closure will be peaceful and we can provide an environment that will ensure the unhampered rehabilitation of the different government agencies,” he added.
There were also tourists who welcomed the presence of law enforcement authorities.
Boracay saw some two million visitors last year, pumping roughly $1 billion in revenue into the country’s economy.
To cushion the impact of the closure, the government will release a calamity fund worth P2 billion.
Meanwhile, on order to promote the island to the international scene after its rehabilitation, Tourism Secretary Wanda TulfoTeo said they are planning to create campaign materials and hold important events to promote the island to foreign tourists.
One of the events that the tourism chief is eyeing is the hosting of the 2019 Miss Universe pageant – which will be a way of reintroducing Boracay. “It's not yet sure but I'm working with the Miss Universe. I want Miss Universe to be here,” she said. (With a report from AFP)
Thousands of tourists leave Boracay Island yesterday, April 25, 2018, as the Island will close today, April 26, 2018 for 6-months to make way for a rehabilitation and demolition of establishments that violated the 25+5 easement. (Photo by: Juan Carlo de Vela) mbnewspictures / mbnewspix
President Duterte, who had described the premier beach destination as a “cesspool,” ordered its closure following the recommendation of the Inter-Agency Task Force consisting of the Tourism, Environment, and Interior and Local Government departments.
In preparation for the shutdown, government security forces and disaster workers staged drills in riot gear on Wednesday, startling the laid-back beach community as workers mounted a last-ditch effort to halt the six-month closure by asking the Supreme Court (SC) to issue a temporary restraining order (TRO).
Combined forces and assets of the Philippine National Police (PNP), Philippine Army (PA), Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), Philippine Navy (PN), Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), and the disaster management team of Malay town responded to scenarios of controlling protesters, the entry of terrorist elements, hostage situation, and rescue operations.
“It was a little disturbing,” said Sebastian Lopes, a 14-year-old British-Indian who is on vacation with his family.
“This morning, we saw a helicopter go past us. My mom said it was a bit scary. I thought it was also scary. We thought Boracay would be close down for renovation but we weren’t really sure why the helicopter was going around,” Sebastian told Manila Bulletin before taking a swim.
“This is a little adversarial. We’ve reading in the Lonely Planet how nice Boracay is, but this is not what we expected,” added Sebastian.
“I don’t think it’s necessary. I don’t understand why there are so many police officers,” echoed Elizabeth Smith.
“It’s very strange. This doesn’t happen in other places,” the 24-year-old from England added while recalling that she never saw so many cops in other beach destinations she visited in Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Malaysia.
Other tourists believe otherwise.
“It’s better the police and military people are here than no one. It’s for security. I can ask them for help when I need help,” said Feller Frederic of Switzerland. The 28-year-old even said that there were cops and military deployed while they were in Paris, France last year to avert any terror threats.
“I was alarmed there were so many soldiers and police,” resident Dory Gaitano told AFP. “I thought they'll be only demolishing establishments with violations. Why are there countless soldiers?”
“I’m not a bit scared at all. If anything, I feel safer,” added Kim Paulding from Australia
A.C. Saldo from Bacolod City pointed out that there’s a need for more security forces as it is still uncertain what will happen during the closure.
Court battle
While the government security forces were simulating clashes, a very real clash was brewing asresidents and workers ask the High Tribunal to temporarily halt the closure.
“It is, mainly, a constitutional challenge to the powers of the executive to arbitrary decision making,” their lawyers said in a statement.
“If Boracay is closed to tourists, they will lose their source of income, and they would not be able to feed their families.”
In their petition, filed through the National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL), they said the abrupt closure of Boracay would render more than 17,000 hotel, restaurant, and other tourism workers, plus about 11,000 construction workers jobless.
“Boracay Island is heavily dependent on tourism. If you take that away from them, it would deprive the people there of their livelihood. The Duterte administration can casually say that it will close Boracay for six months, but that sudden move also means thousands of families will be deprived of income and go hungry. The measure does not take into account their plight. The closure of Boracay must be fair to all,” it stressed.
The petition also said that the closure of Boracay to tourists and non-residents violates the peoples’ right to travel guaranteed under Section 6, Article III of the 1987 Constitution.
“Imposing restrictions upon persons visiting Boracay Island or depriving persons earning a living therein, even though they have not been found guilty of violating environmental laws, is arbitrary, whimsical, and unreasonable intrusion into individual rights, and a violation of the right to due process,” it stressed.
It pointed out that any order of the President “whether verbal or written that curtails or limits the enjoyment of fundamental rights can never be valid and must be struck down by the courts if it finds no statutory or constitutional basis.”
But as of press time Wednesday, no TRO has been issued by the SC. The High Tribunal will hold a full court session today to tackle the release of the 2017 bar examinations, but it was not immediately known if the Boracay petition will be taken up.
Amid criticisms, the PNP maintained that the presence of 600 security forces is a precautionary measure.
“On the contrary, I think this would be a positive effect. The people will feel they are secured in the island,” said PNP Deputy Director General Fernando Mendez Jr.
“The very reason we are deploying additional forces is to make sure that the closure will be peaceful and we can provide an environment that will ensure the unhampered rehabilitation of the different government agencies,” he added.
There were also tourists who welcomed the presence of law enforcement authorities.
Boracay saw some two million visitors last year, pumping roughly $1 billion in revenue into the country’s economy.
To cushion the impact of the closure, the government will release a calamity fund worth P2 billion.
Meanwhile, on order to promote the island to the international scene after its rehabilitation, Tourism Secretary Wanda TulfoTeo said they are planning to create campaign materials and hold important events to promote the island to foreign tourists.
One of the events that the tourism chief is eyeing is the hosting of the 2019 Miss Universe pageant – which will be a way of reintroducing Boracay. “It's not yet sure but I'm working with the Miss Universe. I want Miss Universe to be here,” she said. (With a report from AFP)