Boracay execs see upgraded drain system

FLOODED Boracay’s main road is flooded following nonstop heavy rain. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

ILOILO CITY, Philippines—Tourism officials and business owners on Boracay Island are hoping that the upgrading of the drainage system in the country’s top tourism destination will be completed amid flooding there last week.

Dionesio Salme, president of Boracay Foundation Inc., said the group expected the drainage project of the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority, an agency under the Department of Tourism (DOT), to be operational soon and help ease the flooding, especially during the rainy season.

The project includes putting up a water basin where water from the drainage system can flow or be pumped into.

Heavy and nonstop monsoon rain, which was intensified by Typhoon “Florita,” last week submerged low-lying areas, including portions of the main road, in 1,032-hectare Boracay.

Among the submerged areas were Boat Station 3 at the southern end, a hospital and access roads to the flea market.

Tourism regional director Helen Catalbas said some business owners had been using pumps to flush out the water.

Last year, Boracay generated P25 billion in tourism revenue, according to data from the DOT. The figure was 13-percent higher than what was recorded in 2012. In 2011, earnings amounted to over P16 billion.

Tourist arrivals also rose by 13 percent last year to 1,363,599.

The island’s environment, however, has become a major concern due to decades of unregulated development caused by the tourism boom.

Flooding has been largely blamed on the absence of wetlands, which have been covered and developed to make way for resorts and hotels.