Rehabilitation plans for Boracay, the world reknowned tourist destination known for its pristine white sand beaches, are being crafted, an official of the Office Civil Defense (OCD) bared on Thursday.
In an interview, OCD spokesperson Edgar Posadas said the agency has already participated in the ongoing post-disaster needs and assessment (PDNA) which will identify the specific needs in the recovery and rehabilitation phase of the island.
“Siguro po titingnan natin kung paano natin maire-recommend yung gastusin para maisakatuparan na agad yung (Maybe we are looking at how we could recommend the expenditures so we can implement the) PDNA which shall be the basis for the comprehensive rehabilitation and recovery plan,” he said.
“Also, we are closely working with Neda (National Economic Development Authority) and all the other concerned agencies kasi sila po ang in-charge dun sa pag-craft again ng (because they are in charge in crafting of) comprehensive recovery and rehabilitation plan for Boracay,” Posadas added.
The government has closed Boracay island for tourism while undergoing a six-month environmental rehabilitation which started last April 26. Meanwhile, the
Cebu Pacific Air (CEB) on Friday announced it will temporarily suspend all commercial flights to and from Caticlan beginning May 17 following the six-month closure of Boracay island.
“Cebu Pacific will temporarily suspend all flights to and from Caticlan, Aklan on the back of sluggish demand as Boracay Islands remains closed. The suspension of all operations will take effect on May 17, 2018, until Oct. 27, 2018,” the airline management said in a statement.
It added that the CEB will resume full commercial flight service in Caticlan once Boracay is opened in late October this year.
At present, CEB and other affected airlines are mounting additional flights to other popular tourist destinations to recover revenue losses from the closure of the country’s most popular island.
President Rodrigo Duterte gave the go signal to close the island due to environmental degradation, illegal construction and insufficient waste management.
CEB corporate communications director Charo Logarta Lagamon said the airline is expecting to minimize the impact on its bottomline by redeploying capacity to other routes to between two to five percent.
“Our priority is to be able to help passengers who would be affected by the closure of Boracay,” she said.
According to Sydney-based aviation industry group CAPA (Centre for Aviation), Boracay market is served with nearly 40 daily flights.
CAPA said that Cebu Pacific expects up to USD5 million impact from Boracay closure.
“Cebu Pacific executives said that Caticlan and Kalibo combined account for 6% to 7% of the group’s total traffic and 6% of its total revenue. The group said that under the worst case scenario the six month closure of Boracay will have a USD5 million impact on its bottom line,” it said.
Flag carrier Philippine Airlines also announced earlier it will continue its flight operations to and from Caticlan four times weekly until May 15.
PAL Corporate Communications Department head and spokesperson Ma. Cielo Villaluna said from May 16 until October 26, PAL's Manila-Caticlan service will be temporarily suspended but will resume when Boracay island reopens on October 27.
Villaluna also said daily flights to and from Kalibo will continue to operate during the entire Boracay closure period in order to serve the travel needs of residents and visitors in the city as well as the government’s Boracay rehabilitation team.
PAL president Jaime Bautista said the airline is supporting the government with the program to rehabilitate Boracay.
The government formed a task force to address the environmental problem besetting the Boracay Island.
Reports showed that of the 150 business establishments in Boracay, only 25 were connected to the sewage line and a number of establishments drained their sewage directly into the sea.
