WATCH: How green is Boracay?
Updated 8 p.m.
A video taken recently of Boracay Island has revealed that the world-famous resort island destination is turning green.
In this video taken by Earth Journalism Network’s Imelda Abano, beach-goers are greeted by a large concentration of green algae that developed on Boracay’s water surface at Station 1.
Children can be heard in the video yelling “kadiri (disgusting)!”
Two months after President Duterte tagged Boracay as “cesspool,” the national government has decided to shut down the island for a six-month rehabilitation.
In February, Duterte said he would close Boracay because of sanitation issues.
“At a distance, you see white sand. But you go into the water, it’s smelly. Smell of what? Shit because everything that goes out in Boracay … it’s destroying the environment or the Republic of the Philippines and creating a disaster,” he said in a business forum in Davao City.
The island destination will be officially closed to tourists on Thursday, April 26.
Residents and business owners on the island were divided over the controversial tag and the closure order, which coincides with the “summer” peak season when international and local tourists flock the island.
After six months, Boracay Island will be reopened to the public. But will the national government succeed in reclaiming the island’s former glory?
