Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat on Tuesday scolded people who left their trash on Boracay’s beaches just a day after the government staged a dry run ahead of the world-renowned island’s reopening to foreign tourists on Oct. 26.
“Too bad, we just held a dry run, but you still threw your trash around,” Puyat told those who attended the dry run—and apparently littered on the white sand beaches—in an interview with One News television.
“My question is, how come when our tourists go to other countries, they are really scared of littering because they are afraid of getting caught? They’re disciplined [abroad]. But how come when it comes to our own country, they just litter everywhere?” she added in the vernacular.
Garbage disposal is one of the problems the dry run is meant to fix, Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu said, as he assured that the government is prepared to address all problems that may arise during the 11-day dry run that started Monday.
Puyat also assured that both the national government and the local government of Malay, Aklan—to which Boracay belongs—will strictly enforce guidelines on littering.
The Department of Tourism will also deploy tourist police in the island starting on Oct. 26, she added.
Cimatu on Tuesday said the true test of the government policies and interventions implemented to protect Boracay from unsustainable tourism is the current dry run after the island was shuttered to tourists for six months.
READ: Cimatu lifts suspension of EECs in Boracay
“The point of the dry run is to ensure that everything will run smoothly during the soft opening on Oct. 26,” said Cimatu, who heads the Boracay Inter-Agency Task Force leading the island’s rehabilitation.
“We will see the effects and results of all these interventions on the third day after the tourists arrive,” he said.
Cimatu said only 6,405 tourists per day will be allowed on the island. Thus, only a total of 1,000 hotel rooms will be available for booking at any time during the day, he added.
The task force would not allow the rehabilitation efforts done in the past six months go to waste, Cimatu added, citing the drastic improvement of the water quality in the waters off the island.
“As you may have observed, there has been not only a visible improvement in water quality. Tests done by the EMB [Environmental Management Bureau] revealed that the coliform [bacteria] level is now down to 18.1 MPN/100 mL [Most Probable Number of viable cells in100 milliliters] from thousands or even millions in some areas of the island’s waters prior to closing,” Cimatu said.
The standard coliform level is 100MPN/100 mL of sample.
Meanwhile, Puyat also warned against establishments booking guests even without DOT accreditation.
“I’m worried about those who booked at establishments that are not accredited. When they come here, they have no place to stay,” she said.
Puyat said she was worried about potential fraud from hotels, resorts, and inns who weren’t complying with government orders. “We don’t want tourists to come without a place to stay,” she added.
The Tourism department earlier released a list of establishments allowed to operate in Boracay after complying with the requirements and environmental laws imposed by the government.
Cimatu said the EMB, a line bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, will continue to check the quality of water discharged from sewage treatment plants (STPs) on the island.
He said that solid waste disposal will also be looked into in order to make sure Boracay’s garbage is “immediately moved out and not remain on the island for more than 24 hours.”
Only establishments compliant with the requirements of the DENR, the Department of the Interior and Local Government and the DOT will be allowed to reopen and operate, Cimatu added.
The DENR, he said, will only issue environmental compliance certificates to businesses with own STPs or connected to a provider, and those not within forestlands or wetlands.
