NEARLY after six months of being placed under rehabilitation, Boracay will soon be opening its doors to tourists this month.
President Rodrigo Duterte earlier ordered the closure of the famous tourist destination in April to make way for its major rehabilitation. For a long time little efforts were made to protect Boracay Island from man-made damages and pollution. However, as kill joy as it may sound, the government did what it had to do.
On Monday, the government re-opened Boracay Island for a 10-day dry run
"Today (October 15) is indeed a beautiful day, a historic and momentous day, for today is the rebirth of Boracay Island. From being dubbed as cesspool to its closure for the island to rest and undergo massive rehabilitation and recovery efforts, we offer to you now a better Boracay," Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu, chair of the task force on Boracay rehabilitation, said.
The government has already done its part to rescue the island from further damage. It fixed the sewage system, the roads, and made sure the hotels and resorts are up to standards, among the other things they did.
"However, achieving all of this is only the start. We need to guarantee the continuity of this milestone to prevent the recurrence of previous issues. So to assure sustainable governance, strict monitoring on the implementation of the law is observed," Local Government officer-in-charge Eduardo Año, vice chair of Boracay inter-agency task force, said.
Sadly, when the Boracay Island had its soft opening, the rehabilitation efforts of the government was quickly and literally trashed by some of the people there. Photos of this went viral on social media gaining the ire of netizens.
Sustaining Boracay Island and other tourist destinations in the country does not wholly falls in the shoulder of the government. Tourists and locals must quickly realize that they have the bulk of the responsibility in sustaining the tourist spot.
People visiting tourist sites must follow the rules set by the local government unit or government agency no matter how strict it is. The rules and regulations that are being set are to ensure that these tourist sites will be preserved and can be enjoyed by the future generation.
To sustain the work done to rehabilitate Boracay Island and even the protection of other sits, we the public and its visitors must do our part to preserve it. We can do this by following the rules, being more sensitive to the environment, and changing our mindset. Changing our mindset that we are not only going to the tourist site as simply tourists but as visitors responsible for its future.