Green Day

March 16, 2018

Cimatu’s decision: Close Boracay for up to 1 year

By

Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo

-

March 15, 2018

By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo / Special to the BusinessMirror

THE interagency task force on Boracay will be recommending the declaration of a state of calamity for six months, and a closure of the popular resort island starting on April 26.

This was revealed by Environment Secretary Roy A. Cimatu and other members of the task force during a news briefing at the Department of Tourism (DOT) on Thursday afternoon. “[For] public health, public interest and general welfare, I recommend to the President the closure of Boracay Island as a tourist destination for a maximum of one year, effective one month after the declaration,” he said in a prepared statement. He added this period of closure will give the national government “ample time for the undisrupted implementation” of several measures that will help restore and sustain the island as a major destination.

Cimatu said the water in Bulabog Beach, where kitesurfing and other water activities are held, was too contaminated and the job of constructing the needed sewerage system so massive that there was a need to close down the island as soon as possible. The most recent tests of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), he said, showed “consistent failure, with an average result of 18,000 MPN [most probable number of coliform] per 100 milliliter [ML], exceeding the standard level of 400 MPN/100ML.”

Officer in Charge of the Interior and Local Government Eduardo M. Año told the BusinessMirror that his agency had already sent the necessary documents to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) for the agency to be able to recommend to President Duterte the declaration of a state of calamity.

“They [NDRRMC] will have to make the recommendation to the President, but we already sent them the documents and our recommendation for the declaration,” he said, adding that this will cover a period of “six months. That is the time frame given by the President [for us to fix Boracay].”

During the news briefing, Año said the task force will make its recommendations to Duterte during a Cabinet Cluster meeting on March 19. “These will still be for the President’s approval,” he stressed.

He noted that demolition orders have already been issued by the local government of Malay to several establishments, and pointed out that, “in fact, Boracay West Cove Resort was closed yesterday.” He said the resort “should have been closed in 2011,” as it didn’t have a business permit to operate and no longer had a forest land agreement for tourism purposes with the DENR.

Separate sources said DOT officials were “shocked” that Cimatu is recommending a one-year closure of the island, popular for its powdery, white-sand beach. A ranking DOT official projected a dive in tourist arrivals this year if the closure of Boracay will last longer than two months. So, “we are standing pat on our recommendation for a two-month closure,”

the DOT official said. Under the National Tourism Development Plan, the Duterte administration is targeting visitor arrivals to hit 7.5 million in 2018, up 13.6 percent from last year’s arrivals. The same official added that Cimatu appeared “flexible” on the length of the closure period.

Other DOT officials intimated that the agency’s recommendation is to close Boracay starting April 26, which would effectively cancel events during the May 1 holiday break dubbed “Laboracay.” Several events and parties had already been lined up by resorts, with major sponsors finalizing their support to the popular event, which has been compared to the annual spring break revelry of American students. (See, “Despite controversies, ‘Laboracay’ is still a go…so far,” in the BusinessMirror, March 14, 2018.)

“Laboracay will just dirty the beach again, after we all tried to keep it clean, and to rehabilitate the island,” one DOT insider said. Earlier, the DOT had proposed the closure of the island for two months during the monsoon season, when tourism arrivals are low. But the insider said, “They’re saying there’s no peak or low season anymore in Boracay,” so agency officials felt it was better to close the island as soon as possible to give way to its immediate rehabilitation.

For her part, Tourism Secretary Wanda Corazon T. Teo said her agency has already discussed with all airlines to reduce their flights to Aklan and “not charge rebooking and cancellation fees of passengers” whose flights will be
affected. She asked the airlines “to divert their flights to other destinations so the other destinations can be promoted.”

Sources said the DOT has yet to get the hotels and resorts to agree not to charge their clients who may be affected by the closure any cancellation fees.

In making his recommendation to close Boracay Island, Cimatu said, “The problem of sewage and drainage will persist even though the BIWC [boracay Island Water Co.] promised to do something to solve the problem in one month or by April 5, 2018. The exponential rise in tourist arrivals and the inadequate sewer capacity and the old sewer lines will further aggravate the situation when the 195 unconnected establishments issued notices of violation get connected to the sewer lines.”

He added the DENR has already “identified 973 illegal structures within forestlands and wetlands and 102 within easement areas. While a few have offered to do voluntary demolition, most are still for removal.”

Among the measures to restore Boracay Island as a key tourist destination, the DENR said the sewerage system will be upgraded; solid-waste management facilities and mechanisms will be installed; illegal structures in forestlands and wetlands, easement areas and sinkholes will be removed; roads widened and constructed, pipes laid and ground excavated; and transportation system rationalized.

Cimatu was authorized by Duterte to decide on the fate of Boracay.

Cimatu earlier told reporters after a Senate hearing on the island he couldn’t recommend Boracay’s closure just yet until the sewage problem and other issues are addressed. (See, “Decision day: To close or not to close Boracay,” in the BusinessMirror, March 5, 2018.) But lawyer Jonas R. Leones, Cimatu’s designated spokesman, told the BusinessMirror that, when push comes to shove, Cimatu “might change his mind.”

“If they will not cooperate, well, the secretary might eventually recommend closure,” Leones earlier said.

August 9, 2008

Philip Morris won't postpone Eheads concert

Philip Morris Philippines is organizing the Eraserheads reunion concert, not sponsoring it, a spokesman of the tobacco company said Friday, reiterating that it will not be violating the law if the event pushes through.

"We're not sponsoring the event. We organized it ourselves," said Dave Gomez, Philip Morris public affairs and communications manager.

He added: "The event is free for our valued customers. This is a little something we do for them to show them our appreciation for their continued patronage of our products."

He said the reunion concert will push through as he assured Eraserheads fans that the event is not a violation of the law. "We have no intention of violating the law. In fact, we supported the passage of the Tobacco Act."

Gomez explained that the reunion concert is a promotional event, which, he said, is not prohibited by the Republic Act 9211, the law that regulates the packaging, use, sale distribution and advertisements of tobacco products.

He said Section 4 (Definition of Terms) of RA 9211 promotion means, "an event or activity organized by or on behalf of a tobacco manufacturer, distributor or retailer..." Sponsorship, meanwhile, is defined as a public or private contribution to a third party in relation to an event.

Section 23 of the law defines the restrictions on tobacco promotions. The provision said no person under 18 years old will be allowed to participate in the promotional event.

Gomez said the tobacco company is strictly filtering Eraserheads fans who would be given free tickets for the reunion concert, which will be held on August 30.

‘Red List’ restricts minors

The company has since put up "The Red List" online registration site (www.marlboro.ph) for smokers who want to avail of free tickets for the concert. One of the processes that an Eraserheads fan to go through is to send Philip Morris a document that would prove he is not a minor.

Gomez said the company is curious why the Department of Health (DOH) and the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control Alliance Philippines (FCAP) is suddenly being hostile toward the concert.

He said the company has been organizing the same kind of events for the past years. He said major concerts featuring big Philippine bands, including Parokya ni Edgar, Sandwich and Bamboo, were organized by the company for the past years.

"This is the first time they had a complaint like this against us," he said.

FCAP executive director Dr. Maricar Limpin had said at a press conference with DOH Undersecretary Alex Padilla that the reunion concert would be the first since a Section 25 of RA 9211 took effect July 1, 2008.

The provision defines restrictions on sponsorships of tobacco manufacturers.

Padilla had warned the tobacco company from pushing through with the concert.

"I have a warning to the tobacco company. If we are able to prove that this concert is actually sponsored by you, Philip Morris, definitely we will train our guns on you for violating the law," Padilla said.

The DOH undersecretary, however, admitted that the "organizer" of the concert may not be liable. He said the organizer may only be sanctioned if certain restrictions on promotions are violated.

“That is why we only appeal to the organizers of the event to hopefully disassociate themselves from the [tobacco] company. Carry on with the event without the need of a tobacco company’s sponsorship,” Padilla said. The DOH official was not aware what group was the event’s organizer when he made the statement.

The 'Red List' site violates law

Limpin said that by putting the online registration site, the tobacco company is violating RA 9211. "It is a promotion of the tobacco product because you cannot get into the Red List without going through the website. Definitely, it is a promotion of their product."

The registration site has the usual tobacco company health warning, "Cigarette Smoking is Dangerous To Your Health." To register, you need to give the company some personal information, including name, address, home phone, cellular phone numbers, and e-mail address.

Limpin warned Eraserheads fans that by being included on the tobacco company's mailing list, they are making themselves easy targets for tobacco advertisement and promotional materials.

"The lives of people, especially the youth who will sign up on the Red List will definitely be in the red, meaning stepping into the danger zone," Limpin said. With Michelle Orosa, ABS-CBN News