Probe on after Halloween party organizers pulled a fast one on Boracay execs
MANILA, Philippines — Local officials of tourist destination Boracay are investigating a Halloween party that took place on the island for defying COVID-19 health protocols, Mayor Frolibar Bautista said Thursday.
In an interview on Teleradyo, Bautista said that the party allegedly happened at a private establishment.
“Base sa investigation, meron kasing mga organizer na dinala dun sa private house at dun sila nag-party nung Halloween. Di agad nakita kasi nasa area na malayo sa beach kaya hindi siya masyadong makikita,” Bautista said.
(Based on the investigation, organizers were to a private house and they partied there on Halloween. It wasn’t noticed right away since it was far away from the beach.)
Bautista added that organizers were penalized P5,000.
“Ngayon yung isang organizer di pa makita, hinahanap pa namin eh,” he said.
(One organizer can’t be located. We’re still looking for him.)
The mayor added that two foreigners who attended the party were also found wearing the Philippine National Police uniforms.
‘Irresponsible’
The Department of Tourism (DOT), in a statement, called the Holloween gathering “irresponsible.”
Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat added that while the establishment where the party took place does not need a DOT-accreditation, she reminded the local government, stakeholders as well as island guests “to strictly observe the duly prescribed health and safety guidelines as determined by the Interagency Task Force on the Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) and the BIATF, in the case of the Boracay Island.”
“We are appealing to our LGUs to please cooperate with us in the safe and responsible reopening of our tourist destinations,” Puyat said.
“The jobs and livelihoods that were recently restored in these sites will be affected once again if an outbreak occurs in the area due to the LGU’s negligence. We urge our LGUs to please take our health and safety protocols seriously,” she added.
Boracay reopened its doors to tourists from all regions in the country in October. It was first open to tourists from Western Visayas last June. [ac]
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