RESIDENTS of Suyac Island who are reliant on the tourist arrivals of its mangrove eco-park is asking the Maritime Industry Authority to hasten the accreditation of Sagay Ferry Boat Association so that they can resume operation.
Noli Burlan, President of Suyac Island Eco-Tourist Attandants Association (SIETAS) said that tourist arrivals in the island halted since October last year after the Guimaras tragedy that claimed the lives of 28 passengers when three boats capsized in the Iloilo-Guimaras Strait on August 2019.
Burlan said, since then the Philippine Coast Guard would no longer allow the boats to operate especially the sea transport of tourists to and from Suyac Island and the neighboring Sagay Carbin Reef Marine Reserve.
Suyac Island is a 15-minute boat ride from Barangay Old Sagay.
About 500 tourists are coming to the Island every week.
Burlan said the residents who are also members of the SIETAS are only reliant on fishing.
The Suyac Island Eco-Park has been opened to tourists since 2013. It features an eco-trail in the 15.6 hectare mangrove plantation with nine varieties of mangroves including a 300 year-old one. Tourists can also enjoy swimming at the center of the mangrove plantation.
Mangroves are home to several kinds of fish.
The Eco-Park also features bat watching at its tower and a paddle tour on its clean seawater. Seafood including seashells that can be found in the Island are also served to tourists by SIETAS.
Suyac Island is located at the center of the 32,000-hectare Sagay Marine Reserve, the first of its kind in the country and was established sometime in the 80s. It is now recognized nationally and internationally as one of the most successful marine conservation programs in the Philippines and has won the prestigious Gawad Galing Pook award in 1997.
The island's mangrove plantation has been acknowledged by authorities to have spared Sagay and some neighboring towns and cities from the wrath of Super Typhoon Yolanda in 2013.