Boracay to receive warning for exceeding capacity limit during Holy Week —DOT

The Department of Tourism (DOT) on Tuesday said the Malay town government in Aklan will receive a warning after the carrying capacity of Boracay Island was breached during Holy Week.

Interviewed on GMA News’ Unang Balita, DOT Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Eduardo Año will issue the warning.

“Nakausap ko na si Secretary Año at mag-i-issue na siya ng warning (I have talked with Secretary Año and he will issue a warning),” she said.

“Bago nu'ng pandemya, nagbigay na kami ng carrying capacity 'yung Boracay Inter-Agency Task Force. Ang carrying capacity ay 19,000. Pero noong Holy Week, noong isang araw nasa 21,000 at 22,000, way beyond the carrying capcity," Puyat said.

(Before the pandemic, the Boracay Inter-Agency Task Force already se the carrying capacity [of the island]. The carrying capacity is 19,000. But during Holy Week, it was 21,000 one day and 22,000 on another day, way beyond the carrying capacity.)

"Even pre-pandemic, mino-monitor. Noong pre-pandemic, it never exceeded the carrying capacity kasi lahat ng pumapasok nila-log 'yan," she added.

(Even before the pandemic, we were monitoring [the number of tourists going there]. Before pandemic, the number of tourist arrivals never exceeded the carrying capacity because all those entering the island are logged [into the database].)

On Monday, the DOT called on authorities to address the breach.

Based on the Malay Tourism Office's report to the DOT, the number of tourists on the island hit 21,252 on April 14 (Holy Thursday) and 22,519 on April 15 (Good Friday) — far beyond the recommended daily threshold of around 19,000 tourists.

The DOT said it had notified the DILG and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) of the issue and urged them to take appropriate measures to prevent such incidents.

“We continue our coordination with them, especially the DILG, which has jurisdiction over the LGU (local government unit), to address this concern and prevent similar incidents from happening in the future,” it said.

GMA News Online has contacted DILG to ask for their comment but has yet to receive a reply as of posting time.

Starting February 2 this year, fully vaccinated travelers no longer need to present a negative RT-PCR test to visit popular tourist destinations Boracay and Puerto Galera. —KG, GMA News