Aklan LGU mulls council to ban illegal foreign workers in Boracay

The local government of Aklan is looking into the possibility of forming a council to stop foreigners from illegally working in Boracay.

According to a report on GMA News' "Balitanghali" on Sunday, Aklan local government unit (LGU) consultant Odon Bandiola recommended the creation of the council after reports of some 2,000 illegal foreign workers on the island.

The reports, said to have come from the Bureau of Immigration (BI) and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), found that the illegal foreign workers were employed in the construction, hotel services, and tour sectors, among others.

The council would be mandated to apprehend illegal foreign workers and work closely with the BI and the DOLE.

Just last month, the government adopted the P25-billion Boracay Action Plan, which will install safeguards from ecological degradation and and sustain tourism activities in the island.

Following its reopening in October, tourist arrivals to the island have been limited to only 6,405 per day, as only 19,000 tourists will be allowed in Boracay at any given time.

President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the six-month closure of the Boracay island to make way for a six-month rehabilitation period starting April 26 of last year.

The rehabilitation of the island was recommended by the DENR, the DOT, and the DILG after Duterte threatened to close down the island after he described the tourist destination as a "cesspool." — Jon Viktor D. Cabuenas/BM, GMA News