Jetty Port to admit tourists until last minute to Boracay shutdown

^{Photo by Amita Legaspi}

Caticlan's Jetty Port will accept tourists heading for Boracay Island until the "last minute" before the world-famous resort shuts down for six months beginning April 26.

Port administrator Niven Maquirang on Sunday said, "Magpapasok pa rin ng turista ang Caticlan Jetty Port sa isla ng Boracay hangang 11:59 p.m. ng April 25."

Boracay will be closed to tourists on April 26 to heed an inter-agency recommendation to rehabilitate the island resort.

The looming shutdown stemmed from President Rodrigo Duterte's order to clean the island, calling it a "cesspool" due to neglect of resort owners making money from tourism.

Maquirang said, "April 26 pa naman opisyal na magsasara ang Boracay, kaya hindi ipinagbabawal ang pagpunta sa isla bago nito."

Also he said that visitors coming on April 25 will be allowed entry to enjoy the island-destination, even until the 27th to maximize their stay.

He noted that the six-month closure would probably cost over P300 million in revenues for the Caticlan port, and that a total of 210 contractual workers at the seaport will be temporarily out of jobs.

Meanwhile, an employee claimed that weeks before the shutdown, the port has become a "ghost town," especially during nighttime because no visitors are coming.

Paul Chatman, a sax player from the US, said that he is sad about the closure because he loves to come to Boracay. In fact, he said, he has visited the island six times already in 2018 alone, and he hoped he will be back again before the year ends. —Jun Aguirre/LBG, GMA News