Boracay hotels, resorts back in business but…

COPS ON THE BEACH The Police Regional Office-6, particularly the Metro Boracay Police Task Force led by Chief Supt. John Bulalacao and Senior Supt. Jess Cambay, is credited for maintaining order during the 6-month closure and rehabilitation of Boracay Island.

IT IS BACK to business for some resorts and hotels in Boracay Island, which will end its six-month closure on Oct 26, 2018.

The Compliant Association of Boracay (CAB), a group of tourism establishments in the island, said they have breached the 50 percent occupancy rate for 68 hotels accredited by the Department of Tourism.

There are also reports that some tourists had a hard time looking for accommodations.

“But as what I have gathered, there are still available rooms offered by DOT-accredited hotels. Baka pahirapan for a certain budget.

The fully-booked hotels could be the ones classified as lower end and/or those with 20 rooms and below,” CAB president Lauren Molina said.

The CAB expects that occupancy rate would peak in the coming days.

Hotels which got the DOT green light to operate account for 3,519 rooms, which might be enough to accommodate 6,405 tourists, the maximum arrival per day.

The DOT set the maximum number of tourists per day in the island at 19,215.

Molina vowed that they would be following the rule on the island’s carrying capacity.

“Maybe, one of the reasons na mahirap ang booking, which I haven’t validated yet, baka may nagbebenta ng room kahit hindi pa sila accredited ng DOT which is unfair and irresponsible kasi bakit ka magbebenta kung hindi ka naman accredited,” Molina said.

Thus, the need to transfer their guests to already accredited hotels.

Still, Molina said they are hoping for more hotels and resorts to get the DOT accreditation as Boracay re-opening nears.

“By Monday (October 22), we expect that DOT will again release additional list of complaint resorts and hotels,” he added.

Aside from complying with the DENR, hotels must also be compliant with the requirements set by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).

“We had cases with DENR compliant but not compliant with DILG. So, they still got no accreditation with the DOT,” she added.

Molina said those who wish to visit Boracay could check the DOT website (http://www.tourism.gov.ph/) for the list of complaint establishments.

“I think everyone is doing their part to be compliant. They still have a week to get their accreditation before Boracay re-opens,” she added.

ORIGIN

CAB was born following a meeting called by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) on September 14 where it was announced the names of complaint establishments.

“We expected that majority of other businesses will be part of that group. It’s not saying that were the chosen or were special but were just following the rule of law. So, the more people that could joint our group, the better,” Molina said.

Citing a personal opinion, Molina said Boracay’s failure could be owed to collective efforts – whether it’s the sin of commission or sin of omission.

“Parang pinabayaan lang naming mangyari. It’s still our fault and we couldn’t solve that with just less than 100 establishments.

We need majority of business owners to be part of this endeavor para hindi na maulit ang nangyari,” she added.

Currently, the group is working out for the closure not to happen again.

“We will keep pushing for compliance. At the end of the day, ayaw naman naming ipapasara ulit namin kayo dahil hindi kami sumusunod sa batas. That’s what we don’t want to happen as a group,” she added.

Molina said with more accredited hotels, they could buoy for compliance and sustainability with the rules set by the government.

“Anyone can make mistakes but don’t make the same mistake twice because there’s something wrong with you already. Napalo na kami, na close na kami, hihintayin pa po ba namin na ma-close ulit?” she said.

While they see October 26 as a good beginnings, especially for the compliant ones, Molina said they need majority of locators to pass the standards.

“We’re still taking baby steps for now. We’re still not well versed on how to go with the guidelines,” she said adding that they are optimistic that the one and a half year time to work with concerned government agencies would be enough to buoy for sustainability

“For that time, we would work closely with them. They would give us feedback on members who are not following solid waste management and wastewater management and disposal and we will issue a memorandum to our group members,” Molina said.

After all, they don’t want to run the risk of another Boracay closure.

SOURCE: The Daily Guardian

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