This Week in Cebu (May 7 to 13, 2018)

While the sun is gradually making its presence felt during the first half of the week, a thunderstorm or two still makes it a wet month of May. Cloudy weather starts to dominate the middle of the week, particularly in the afternoon and early evening. Bringing rain gear over the weekend is also advisable since rain showers and thunderstorms are expected in the afternoons. Temperatures for the week range from as low as 24 0C to a maximum of 34 0C [1].

Two new roads are expected to be opened by the Mandaue City government to provide vehicles from northern Cebu access to the North Reclamation Area [2]. The demolition of houses in Sitio Sapangdaan and SItio Abra in April 16 paved the way for the construction of a new road from UN Avenue all the way to D.M. Cortes Street. Another road will be built connecting Mantawi Drive and Lopez Jaena Street. Aside from providing access to vehicles coming from the north, the two access roads also give firefighters better access to the communities in the area in case of emergencies, like fires.

Cebu is considered as a major hub and an important market of Philippine Airlines (PAL). Due to this, the country’s flag carrier is eyeing at the possibility of opening more international flights coming out of the Queen City of the South. One of the potential routes that the company may open is the Cebu to Los Angeles route [3]. This route was initially introduced in December 2016 before it was suspended temporarily on May 30, 2017 as part of the company’s rationalizing capacity for the route. In addition, PAL is also considering Cebu to Hong Kong routes due to a sizable Chinese population on the island.

The six-month closure of Boracay pushed the Presidential Assistant for the Visayas, Michael Dino, to meet resort owners in Mactan. A 95% increase in tourist arrivals was noted in April after Boracay was closed last April 26. To prevent the environmental issues from hounding Cebu, the Office of the Presidential Assistant for the Visayas (OPAV) will meet with resort owners from Mactan, Lapu-Lapu City local officials, and representatives from other popular tourist attractions and destinations in Cebu, including Camotes Island, Bantayan Island, Oslob, and Moalboal [4]. They will work on ensuring that the situation in Boracay will not happen in Cebu.

The Hotel, Resort and Restaurant Association of Cebu (HRRAC) will work with the Lapu-Lapu City Government in ensuring that tourism establishments on the island comply with environmental laws [5]. The temporary closure of Boracay served as a wake-up call for the organization as they have implemented programs to ensure all laws and ordinances are followed. Aside from water treatment facilities, members of the organization also have environmental compliance certificates. They also follow a three-meter easement since Lapu-Lapu is a highly-urbanized city. Tourism stakeholders have also praised local government officials for implementing measures to rehabilitate and save tourist attractions from destruction. Initiatives like the cleanup of Tumalog Falls and Sumilon Island have raised awareness on the need to ensure tourism sustainability.