DOT chief Puyat says Boracay rehab will be completed by Dec. 2019

Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said Thursday that it would still take more than a year, or until December 2019, to completely rehabilitate Boracay Island.

During the hearing on the proposed P3.39-billion budget of the Department of Tourism for 2019, Puyat said the October 26 event will only be a soft opening or Phase 1, while Phase 2 will be in April 2019 and the final one, Phase 3, will be in December 2019.

"By October 26, only the major roads will be built. We will have the complete rehabilitation by December 2019," she said.

She added that the DOT asked the airlines to reduce flights entering Boracay amid the pronouncement of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources on the carrying capacity of Boracay.

She said they wanted to limit the number of tourists in the island resort to 19,000 at any given time. — MDM, GMA News