ILOILO City – Non-compliant and non-accredited establishments accepting bookings in Boracay Island will be dealt with the “full force of the law,” the Department of Tourism (DOT) said. It instructed concerned establishments to stop all online promotions and other related collaterals until complete compliance with government regulations had been accomplished.
“All Boracay Island accommodation establishments that are not compliant with the Department of Interior and Local Government and Department of Environment and Natural Resources requirements and are not yet accredited with DOT are hereby strongly advised to cease and desist from making room bookings or sale for occupancy starting Oct. 26, 2018 onward until such time that all requirements for opening their establishments are in order and complete,” read the DOT advisory issued over the weekend.
As of Oct. 12, only 68 hotels and resort inns were included in the list of DOT-accredited accommodation establishments allowed to operate during Boracay’s reopening on Oct. 26.
“Those found violating the terms of this advisory shall be dealt with full force of the law,” warned the DOT.
These 68 hotels and resorts – from Station 1 to Station 3 – have a total of 3,519 rooms available.
Just this Oct. 5 Environment secretary Roy Cimatu lifted the suspension of the environmental compliance certificates (ECCs) of some business establishments in the world-famous resort island.
Under the Environmental Impact Assessment System, ECCs are issued to projects that pose potential risks or impacts on the environment.
A project proponent is required to secure an ECC before starting operations.
In Memorandum Circular 2018-14 Cimatu gave the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) in Region 6 the go-signal to lift the suspension of ECCs issued to “complying” hotels and other establishments in the island.
In July, Cimatu suspended the ECCs of all businesses in Boracay pending a thorough review of their compliance to existing local and national laws.
In the new memo, Cimatu ordered the committee to continuously monitor all Boracay establishments on their compliance with existing ECCs and environmental management plans.
The DENR chief also directed the committee to submit to him its regular monitoring reports.
The following are the accredited hotels and resorts – and their number of rooms available – cleared to operate beginning Oct. 16:
* 357 Boracay Resort (10); 7 Stones Boracay Suites (31); Alice in Wonderland Beach Hotel (21); Astoria Current Resort (205); Azalea Hotels & Residences (284); Best Western Boracay Tropics (64); Blue Coral Resort (5); Boracay Have Resort (63); Boracay Haven Suites (82); Boracay Holiday Resort (69); Boracay Mandarin Island Hotel (52); Boracay Travelodge Beach Resort (40); Boracay White Coral (5); Calypso Resort Hotel (22); Canyon de Boracay (31);
* Casa Pilar Beach Resort (84); Dave’s Straw Hat Inn (11); Discovery Shores Boracay (99); El Centro Beach Resort (39); Ernest’s Place Resort (21); Fairways & Bluewater Resort (700); Frendz Boracay Hostel (8); Frendz Resort (19); Greenyard Inn (5); Hampstead Boutique Hotel (8); Hey Jude Resort Hotel (24); Hey Jude South Beach (19); Hue Hotel (Luana Hotel) (127); Hotel Soffia (58); Isla Azul Boracay Hotel (14); Isla Gecko Resort (16); Island Inn (26); Jeffrey S Hotel (15);
* Jony’s Beach Resort (21); Jony’s Boutique Hotel (22); Lady Jean Resort (7); Lanterna Hotel (6); Lugar Bonito (6); Luxx Boutique Hotel Boracay (11); Milflores de Boracay (Jinjiang Inn) (10); Moreno’s Cottages (6); Nigi-Nigi Nu Noo’s’e; Nunu Noos (37); Nirvana Beach Resort (32); Ocean Breeze (7); Paradise Garden Resort Hotel & Convention Center (463); Pinjalo Resort (Jade hill Project Property) (24);
* Red Coconut Beach Hotel (50); Reef Retreat Beach Resort (12); Roy’s Rendevous Resort & Bungalow (10); Shangri-la Resort (219); Shore Time Hotel-Annex (12); Sol Y Sombra (10); St. Vincent Cottages (Vicente Aguirre Rooms) (27); Sulu Plaza Lodge (12); Sunshine Place (9); Tan’s Guesthouse Main (14);
* Tan’s Guesthouse Annex (14); Taj Resort and Spa Main (11); Taj Resort and Spa Annex (18); The Club Ten Beach Resort (20); The Ferra Premier by JG Hotel (36); The Lazy Dog Cottages (26); The Strand Boutique Hotel (13); Villa Simprosa (24); Villa Sunset Boracay (8); White Beach de Boracay (5); and White House Beach Resort (30)./PN
