BORACAY – Local authorities in Aklan are waiting for the green light from the Boracay Inter-Agency Task Force (BIATF) to open this world-famous island to domestic tourists and foreigners.
The BIATF, through Tourism secretary Bernadette Puyat-Romulo, has yet to give the go signal for Boracay to reopen, specifically for international tourists and local tourists outside Western Visayas.
To recall, the island begun accepting visitors from the region on June 16 after BIATF started to ease restrictions in one of the destinations battered by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
Gov. Florencio Miraflores of Aklan and acting mayor Frolibar Bautista of Malay signed a joint resolution No. 2020-01 asking the BIATF to save the travel and tourism industry from heavy losses.
Hotels operators and businesses in Boracay Island have been paying the price if international travel remains shut down to travelers.
The alliance of private and public sectors for Boracay Island are optimistic the international travel could restart safely with health protocols in accordance with the guidelines formulated by the Inter-Agency Task Force in the management of Emerging Infectious Diseases.
The affected stakeholders urged the provincial government to study the travel bubbles or travel corridors between Boracay Island and neighboring countries with low-risk countries or cities to allow the movement of tourists.
In response to stakeholders, residents and displaced workers, the local government units held a dialogue on Aug. 15 supporting the proposal to open Boracay to tourism starting Oct. 1, 2020.
Most business groups in Boracay Island favored reconnecting the island to South Korea, China or Taiwan which make up almost 85 percent of international visitors to Boracay Island.
Boracay Foundation Inc., Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Boracay Land Transport Multi-purpose Cooperative, Caticlan Boracay Transport Multi-Purpose Cooperative, Compliant Association of Boracay and Boracay Watersports Association are for travel bubble to kick start sectors such as tourism, hospitality and travel.
In related development, Bautista declined the proposal of Sangguniang Bayan (SB) for a temporary border closure.
The border closure as stated in SB’s Sept. 10 Resolution No. 149 urged the acting mayor to place the municipality’s borders closed following the first local transmission in the province of Aklan.
The councilors floated the proposal after they raised concerns on a local transmission of Covid-19 reported in Kalibo, Aklan.
A hospital staff contracted the viral illness, prompting Kalibo mayor Emerson Lachica and the local task force to enforce granular lockdown in two sitios of Barangay Bakhaw Norte on Sept. 11.
In his reply, Bautista issued on Sept. 12 Executive No. 46 to veto the recommendations of the councilors. The acting mayor also appealed to residents to strictly follow the minimum health protocols of the Department of Health to curb the spread of COVID-19.
“The municipality is classified as Area Outside Buffer Zone based on the zoning containment and strategy on LGUs (local government units by the Regional Inter-Agency Task Force on Covid-19,” Bautista stressed.
The Malay municipal government already adjusted its strategies by opening borders and easing of restrictions to holidaymakers in the region and not compromises the health and economy.
With necessary health precautions in place, according to Bautista, hundreds of businesses and workers are hopeful to bring back the tourists to the famed beaches of Boracay Island./PN
