ILOILO CITY – A dead whale was washed ashore in Boracay Island, the country’s most famous beach destination in Malay town, Aklan province.
Ernesto Bandiola Cruz, a photographer and community volunteer, said the dead whale was discovered at Sitio Sugod of Manocmanoc village Thursday, September 16.
Cruz told Manila Bulletin in a phone interview that the whale, which was about the size of a boat that can carry 40 people, was already in the state of decomposition.
Cruz said that he was initially informed by Dennis Casimero that a whale was floating offshore as early as Wednesday afternoon.
But the dead whale was swept by the current to the shoreline that is allegedly part of the more than 20-hectare property of Galaxy Entertainment Group (GEG), the Macau-based group that is proposing to construct a casino in Boracay.
Since the access road going there has been sealed off from the public, Cruz said he was able to go there by renting a small boat.
It was Cruz who informed both the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).
Cruz said the whale will be buried somewhere near the site where it was found since transporting it elsewhere would be very hard.