Moratorium sought on permits to transport vehicles to Boracay

Visitors escaping from the city’s cemented jungle to spend a memorable time in the sun, seas and sands of Boracay may be reliving an urban nightmare there: road congestion.

A multisectoral task force is urging municipal officials of Malay, which has jurisdiction over the country’s premier tourist destination, to impose a moratorium on the issuance of new franchises and permits to transport of motor vehicles to the island.

“There has been a growing clamor among visitors and business owners to control the number of vehicles,” said John Ace Azarcon, provincial director of the Department of the Interior and Local Government and member of the Task Force Bantay Boracay.

The task force, headed by Aklan Gov. Carlito Marquez and composed of representatives of various sectors, said the big number of vehicles was causing inconvenience to residents and tourists, and was posing hazards to motorists.

According to a survey of the Land Transportation Office, there are at least 4,026 vehicles in Boracay as of September 24, 2011, Around 70 percent (2,848) are registered for private use while the rest are used for public transport, such as motorcycles (98), tricycles (564), utility vehicles (78) and trucks (126).

Azarcon said the vehicles were among the main causes of congestion along the narrow roads and of pollution. Several vehicles registered for private use were also being utilized for rental services catering to tourists, he added.

Simply put, the vehicles can easily clog both lanes of the busiest four-kilometer stretch of Boracay’s tourist district when placed simultaneously, and place the island at a standstill. The 1,002-hectare island has an 18-km road network and a population of 18,229.

Last year, 908,875 tourists visited the island. Tourist arrivals are expected to reach 1.2 million this year.

A study of the Boracay Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc. in 2005 showed an increasing number of vehicular accidents, especially along the six-meter-wide main road that runs parallel to the 5-km shoreline.

The increasing number of motor vehicles has also been blamed for noise and air pollution on the island, according to another study undertaken by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.