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BY JUN AGUIRRE
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Monday, March 19, 2018
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BORACAY – Parties halted in this popular island destination as stakeholders took to the beachfront their common plea: Not to close Boracay.
Saturday night’s candle-lighting activity was the residents, businesspeople and tourists’ way of lobbying against the total shutdown of the island.
Signing a petition against the closure was also conducted during the activity. The petition will be sent to President Rodrigo Duterte.
Lights and music in the island were turned off for about eight minutes as stakeholders gathered at the beachfront to light the candles which formed the phrases “Boracay united” and “Save Boracay.”
“We decided to [conduct] the activity for a cause. We choose to start 8:08 p.m. and ended 8:16 p.m. just to express our sentiments as residents and as those who love Boracay,” said Swedish-Filipino Noe Macavinta, 25, one of the organizers of the event.
Boracay Foundation, Inc. president Nenette Graf said children also joined the activity.
Duterte is expected to announce on March 26 his decision on the Department of Tourism (DOT), the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Department of Interior and Local Government’s suggestion to close Boracay for a year.
This amid the ongoing rehabilitation efforts in the island since the President called the island a “cesspool” on Feb. 9.
After that, several business establishments that violated sanitation and zoning laws in Boracay were ordered close. Some, including the viewing deck of the famous West Cove resort, were demolished.
The President earlier this month has also announced to put the island under a state of calamity to pave way for the restoration efforts.
In 2017, Boracay catered to over two million foreign and domestic tourists, generating about P56-billion tourism receipts, according to the DOT.
Local groups have said Boracay contributed a big amount of money to the national government due to its booming tourism industry, which was also seen to be the culprit in the environmental degradation of the island.
American Randall Parker, an international business consultant, said foreign tourists may be discouraged to visit Philippines if Boracay will be closed.
He added that the island is a “major Philippine gateway for tourists.”
Most foreigners come to Boracay before visiting other places in the country, Parker explained./PN
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