Palace: No need for EO to rehabilitate Panglao, El Nido

President Rodrigo Duterte's official family has agreed that the chief executive no longer has to issue an executive order to carry out the rehabilitation of tourist destinations Panglao Island in Bohol and El Nido in Palawan, Malacañang said Wednesday.

Duterte's spokesperson, Salvador Panelo, said the decision was reached during the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday at the presidential palace.

Asked to elaborate on the outcome of the discussions, Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said in a text message that the mandate of government agencies involved in the rehabilitation "will suffice."

She said Panglao and El Nido would not be closed off to tourists similar to what happened in Boracay this year.

Romulo-Puyat said the ongoing rehabilitation of Panglao and El Nido will last for six months.

“Since we have already started in Boracay, let’s continue these rehabilitation efforts for the sake of the Philippines and the Filipino people, so that they can have something to be proud of,” Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu said in a statement on November 15.

He said a study on El Nido’s carrying capacity will be conducted and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources will make sure that all establishments there will be required to have sewage and wastewater treatment facilities.

The government will also pursue rehabilitation of Coron, Palawan; Siargao, Surigao del Norte, and Puerto Galera, Oriental Mindoro in the coming months. —KBK, GMA News