While Boracay will be reopened on Oct. 26, Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said the rehabilitation of the island will be completed by December 2019.
Speaking during the deliberations of the Department of Tourism proposed P3.39-billion budget for next year, Puyat said there will be a “soft opening” on Oct. 26 this year but “with only major roads built.”
“So by October 26, you will only have the main roads built. That’s why we also say it’s only a soft opening,” she said.
“So by October 26, we’ll have only the major roads built but definitely, we see a complete rehab maybe by December of 2019.”
Puyat added that hotels that will be opened should have already complied with the requisites put up by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the Department of the Interior and Local Government and the DoT.
She likewise told the panel chaired by Senator Loren Legarda that the Oct. 26 soft opening is just the first phase of the rehabilitation. She said the second phase will be on April 2019 while the third and final phase was scheduled on December 2019.
The DoT also asked airlines to reduce flights entering Boracay following the advisory of DENR on the carrying capacity of Boracay. Puyat said they wanted to limit the number of tourists in the island resort to 19,000 at any given time.
Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu told the same hearing on Wednesday that 180 out of the 2,000 establishments have fully complied with the required wastewater sewage system as they already have their own treatment plan, drainage system, and solid waste management. He said they had also secured their own permits and accreditation for tourism purposes.
After complying with the requirements, Cimatu said business owners still have to go to the DOT for accreditation.
He said the DENR has set up a one-stop shop where establishments can submit the proper documents.
DENR Usec. Jonas Leones of the DENR’s Policy, Planning, and International Affairs, however, clarified that some 2,000 establishments have already submitted their compliance requirements which are now in the process of evaluation.
“The 180 are establishments which have undergone the process,” said Leones, who added that they still have to validate their documents.
Leones said they hope to finish the evaluation of the 2,000 applications before the planned dry run on October 15.
“Based on latest figures, there are 180 compliant establishments but these include only compliance on the environment and land requirement. We will be discussing with the DOT and the DILG to finalize the list,” he said.