Duterte leaves reopening of Boracay to DILG, DOT, DENR

President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday left to the three departments leading the rehabilitation of Boracay the decision to reopen the popular tourist destination.

"I will wait for the recommendation. I leave it to [Interior and Local Government officer-in-charge Eduardo] Año, [Environment Secretary Roy] Cimatu, [Tourism Secretary] Berna [Romulo-Puyat]. Sila na mag usap dyan. Bahala na sila. They can vote on it," Duterte said in his nationally televised exchange with Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo in Malacañang.

Puyat said last month that Boracay will have a soft opening on October 26 in a decision made following her meeting with Cimatu and Año.

She said rebranding Boracay into a normal tourist destination instead of a party island comparable to Ibiza or Majorca in Spain will be the government's priority with its reopening.

Duterte had also made it clear that no casino would be constructed on Boracay and that he was placing it under land reform, citing a Supreme Court decision in October 2008 that declared the island, which it classified as forested and agricultural, as state owned.

Boracay was closed to tourists on April 26 to give way for a six-month rehabilitation process for the island that is reeling from environmental degradation and unchecked tourism. — MDM, GMA News