This Week in Boracay (June 17 to 23, 2018)

It will be another gloomy week in Boracay. The start of the week will be sunny until midweek but expect rain and thunderstorms from Thursday until the weekend. Although dark clouds loom overhead, it will still be humid on the island with a maximum temperature of 30 °C and minimum of 29 °C [1]. Strong winds can also be observed at the White Beach as habagat season or southwest monsoon nears.

Diesel-powered tricycles will soon be phased out in Boracay. The local government of Malay is eyeing to remove all regular tricycles and only allow electric tricycles or e-trike to ply on the island by September. This is to limit air pollution as well as to reduce traffic in the island [2].

There are already more than 200 e-trikes on the island while there are more than a thousand registered tricycles. Impounded tricycles and even motorcycles with missing documents have already been brought to the mainland. Tricycle drivers and operators still continue to oppose the plan. The phase-out, however, has long been overdue since it was supposed to start in 2015. It was however delayed in consideration to the tricycle operators who could not afford to upgrade into e-trikes yet.

The habagat season is anticipated yearly in Boracay. During this time, the calm White Beach is usually raging due to the strong winds brought by southwest monsoon. Because of strong winds, boat trips are normally transferred from Caticlan to Tabon Port in the mainland, and from Cagban to Tambisaan Port in the island [3]. The decision to transfer the port operations is determined by the Philippine Coast Guard.

One of the components of the rehabilitation of Boracay is the road widening. Roads are widened to follow the 12-meter road setback. This means no structures shall be allowed six meters from the center of the road. Due to the road widening, some poles along the road need to be removed and adjusted, too. Intermittent power interruptions can also be expected within the six months closure of Boracay due to the adjustment of electrical poles [4]. Apart from electric wirings, cables and wires of telecommunication and cable companies are also being transferred.

Apart from being a tourism destination, recent media reports also showed that some portions on the island are being eyed as an agrarian area [5]. Plans to distribute land to the natives of the island is also part of the proposal. The proposal, however, is still being debated.

Based on Executive Order 53, only the three barangays of Boracay – Manocmanoc, Balabag, and Yapak, was placed under a state of calamity on April 26. However, due to its wide impact, the local council of Malay is eyeing to also declare a state of calamity for mainland barangays. The declaration will allow the LGU of Malay to use their calamity fund [6].