It’s only February and we are now feeling the beginning of summer.
It’s now time to look for budget offers from airlines and out-of-town hotels.
A recent Facebook post by the peripatetic Teddy Montelibano on Boracay on the plan of San Miguel Corporation to develop Boracay makes it compelling for us enjoy Boracay now.
Teddy’s post was from the FB page of the province of Aklan boasting of the “Country’s biggest hotel and coliseum to rise at Boracay Airport Complex.”
The project which had no less than President Aquino as guest when the renovated Caticlan airport was inaugurated in June last year is to be undertaken by TransAire Development Holdings Corp., a subsidiary of San Miguel Corp.
The official release said: “Once the Boracay Airport complex spanning Caticlan and Nabas in Aklan becomes fully operational over the next few years, some of its structures will set Philippine records for sheer size. And for environmental friendliness.
“Room rates at the budget-hotel are expected to range from P1,000 to P2,000 per night. The rates compare favorably to budget room rates on Boracay and are, therefore, clearly affordable for inbound tourists.
The budget-hotel is intended to help decongest Boracay, which will be flooded with about a million tourists this year and probably up to three million in the next few years…
“The planned dome-shaped convention center will be able to seat up to 25,000 persons, or 10,000 more persons that the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Cubao, Quezon City in Metro Manila. It will become both the country’s largest convention center and its biggest indoor arena.
“The new terminal building will be the ‘greenest’ terminal building in the Philippines. Its large windows will allow the free flow of fresh air throughout the building thereby reducing the need for massive air conditioning.
“It will derive part of its electricity from solar panels; will install a rainwater collection system and will have its own wastewater treatment plant.”
I seriously doubt the viability of 5,000-room budget hotel in Caticlan where one has to take a ferry boat to go to beach. But that’s Ramon Ang’s concern.
I’m more concerned about the impact of thousands more tourists in an already over-burdened and much-abused island.
Writer Clinton Palanca did his math and gave us a scary scenario of Boracay if that behemoth of a hotel project succeeds: “ If the 5000 rooms are filled with two persons each, that’s 10,000 people plus those staying at hotels in Boracay. White Beach is 3.5 kilometers long. If these people did nothing but sit on the beach, they would be two deep in a space half a meter wide per person.”
Teddy Montelibano painted a scarier picture: “They’d all have breakfast in Caticlan then go across Boracay and, like meerkats in the Life of Pi, cover the entire length of White Beach, from north to south.”
The project is expected to be completed in 2015. We have only two years to enjoy what remains of the once- splendid Boracay.
Check out these related articles:
http://www.ellentordesillas.com/2012/07/15/sc-rescues-boracay-from-further-destruction/
http://www.ellentordesillas.com/2011/05/25/where-have-all-the-boracay-sandcastles-gone/
http://www.ellentordesillas.com/2008/12/05/a-really-messy-case-in-boracay-part-two/
http://www.ellentordesillas.com/2005/12/14/shangrilas-paved-paradise-in-boracay/
I don’t know how fast can one can destroy its nature’s gift but the Island of Boracay is a classic example.. With its rapid development it is not capable of maintaining the upkeep especially the Sewage treatment.. And garbage disposal.. And it is exploited much more than it can handle. Contrast it to our island just 15 minutes by Ferry to its nearest point from the City of Toronto. It is the Main summer refuge for the city residents and touristsfor its beaches and also a secondary Airport serving regional Destinations and in the Farther Portion of the Island is Clothing Optional beach open for families and the public where the whole Family can enjoy the Summer with only the sun and the sand between their Skins. Voyeurs Are not permitted as their are Children present and also grandmas…No hotels within the Island but there are all kinds of accommodation Accross …under the lake tunnel for vehicles and pedestrians is in the Plans instead of the junked overhead Bridge to access the airport and thePark and beaches and the small residential areas that by law is grandfathered. ( yes, The city tried to get rid of the housing but lost in court)..no more housing to be developed and they will eventually be rid of as the last owners gone. (Expropriated after the last owner , to make island only for the Public use)
This is what happens when we filipinos do not anymore have control over our own resources and the direction of its development. These developments do not benefit our nation and us who are the nation. We the nation and sons of these archipelago have become mere resources whose maximum usefulness have been extracted to the maximum to provide for those who control us, maximum profits until our usefulness will have dried up.
The more appropriate term should not be “The … ‘greenest’ … in the Philippines….” Instead, it should be “the ‘greediest’ in the Philippines”
I was in Boracay 3 weeks ago. Before that, in 1998. My mother said we were there in 1965. I dont remember that. I was very young. I like Boracay now than in 1998. There is water and electricity and the road is paved. According to the hotel employees, you cant lay on the beach when its the peak season there. I’ll probably find another island after 2015.
Jake, we have hundreds of choices.
“According to the hotel employees, you cant lay on the beach when its the peak season there.” –
Terrible.
Peak season is April, May.