Boracay Flood: Work Unfinished

TOGETHER WITH the social media posts of tourists and residents wading in floodwaters, media reported the floods in Boracay last week which was brought by rains because of the low pressure area in northern Luzon and the landfall of Tropical Storm Falcon (Danas) in Cagayan on July 17.

Media duly noted the state weather bureau’s advisory about the two weather phenomena’s causing heavy rains. The flooding prompted officials of the Boracay Inter-Agency Rehabilitation Group and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to apologize and appeal for understanding.

CMFR cheers the Philippine Daily Inquirer for providing critical context in its report on Boracay flooding. The article recalled the shutdown and the still unfinished rehabilitation work months after the island re-opened to tourist travel.

The Inquirer said upgrading of the main road and work on the drainage and sewage systems have yet to be done, and that some projects are scheduled for completion only in 2020 and 2021. Another Inquirer report on July 19 noted that the 2018 shutdown displaced 30,000 workers, adding that residents observed that problems have remained despite the closure.

The Inquirer backgrounder helps refresh public awareness of the circumstances surrounding the Boracay shutdown and how its rehabilitation was started without a master plan. Because government has announced plans to rehabilitate other tourism destinations, the report calls attention to the lessons of Boracay and the failures in the implementation of a sound idea. (See previous monitor: “Boracay Shutdown: Where is the Master Plan?”)