On feast of St. John the Baptist, Boracay waters off limits to locals

EXCLUSIVE FOR A DAY Only tourists who have complied with health protocols will be allowed to swim in the beaches of Boracay Island on Thursday as the local government of Malay, Aklan, tries to prevent residents from crowding the town’s coastlines and rivers to celebrate the feast of St. John the Baptist. —JACK JARILLA

The municipal government of Malay in Aklan province has banned mass gatherings and swimming in rivers and beaches for all residents during the feast of St. John the Baptist on Thursday as part of health restrictions.

The ban, however, does not cover tourists on Boracay Island which has welcomed more than 10,000 visitors since flights from Metro Manila resumed on June 3.

In an advisory, the local government of Malay said the measure was aimed at preventing the spread of the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) as the annual religious feast, celebrated every June 24, is associated with gatherings in rivers and beaches.

The advisory covers the town’s 17 villages, including three on Boracay Island.

In a telephone interview on Tuesday night, acting Mayor Frolibar Bautista said the ban would not apply to tourists in Boracay because “they have already been subjected to a (reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, or RT-PCR, test) before coming to the island.”

Tourism-dependent

“During this time of pandemic, allowing the celebration of San Juan is considered dangerous as COVID-19 cases in the municipality are continuously rising. We are asking for your understanding as we cannot risk the further increase of COVID-19 cases,” according to the advisory.

The island’s residents and businesses are heavily dependent on tourism.

But the health crisis prompted the imposition of travel and community quarantine restrictions that eventually led to the closure, some permanently, of businesses on the island. Many workers had also been laid off.

The island reopened to tourists from Western Visayas region on June 16 and from other areas in October last year.

But in March this year, tourist arrivals plummeted again after heightened travel restrictions were imposed in Metro Manila and neighboring provinces due to a surge in COVID-19 cases.

Flights from Metro Manila to Barangay Caticlan in Malay resumed on June 3, resulting in a sharp increase in arrivals.

The Malay tourism office recorded 16,047 tourists arriving in Boracay from June 1 to June 20. Nearly 64 percent, or 10,220 visitors, were from Metro Manila.

The three-week total was more than the number of visitors during the holiday season in December with 15,307 and in January with 11,898.

It will likely surpass the 16,487 tourists recorded in February, the highest since the island began accepting tourists during the pandemic.

—NESTOR P. BURGOS JR.