'Closing Time' in Boracay as 6-month shutdown begins

Katrina Domingo

Fernando G Sepe Jr

ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2018/news/04/26/bora1.jpg" class="fr-fil fr-dib"/><figcaption>A worker cleans the beach front of a resort on day one of the 6-month closure of Boracay Island on Thursday. <em>Fernando G. Sepe Jr., ABS-CBN News</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>BORACAY ISLAND - Jonnel Tamayo ferried the last batch of tourists on his tricycle and said goodbye to a salary that rivals a Manila executive, as the Philippines on Thursday shut down its most popular tourist island to rid its waters of human waste.</p><p>Tearful resort workers served grilled seafood to tourists, some singing the 90&#x27;s alternative rock anthem &quot;Closing Time,&quot; as the island counted down to the start of the six-month closure Wednesday night.</p><p>Tamayo said he might come home to nearby Romblon Island. He said the P300 per day he would earn helping in the cleanup couldn&#x27;t compare to his P1,200 daily earnings as a tricycle driver, which could quadruple during peak seasons.</p><p>&quot;Bahala na ano trabahong makita ko sa Romblon,&quot; Tamayo told ABS-CBN News. &quot;Sayang, ang laki pa naman ng kita ko ngayon kasi peak season.&quot;</p><p>(Who knows what job I&#x27;ll find in Romblon. It&#x27;s a pity, I would have earned a lot because it&#x27;s the peak season.)</p><ul class="op-related-articles"><li><a href="http://news.abs-cbn.com/video/business/04/25/18/what-do-we-stand-to-lose-when-boracay-closes">What do we stand to lose when Boracay closes?</a></li><li><a href="http://news.abs-cbn.com/life/04/25/18/boracay-beachfront-resorts-restos-hold-farewell-parties-on-eve-of-closure">Boracay beachfront resorts, restos hold farewell parties on eve of closure</a></li></ul><figure class="op-interactive"><div id="IVS_ABS_Body_Video_1_Container"><ivs-player id="IVS_ABS_Body_Video_1" data-ivs-spid="3001339" data-ivs-key="e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603" data-ivs-vid="1435247" data-ivs-floating="1"></ivs-player> <script src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/js/iframe-parent.js"></script> <script src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/js/loader.js"></script></div></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="~//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="~//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div><p>Some 36,000 hotel and resort staff, masseurs, vendors and tattoo artists could be displaced by the shutdown, according to industry groups.</p><p>The government has set aside P2.5 billion to give temporary work to those who will be affected, said Tourism Sec. Wanda Teo.</p><p>The government would hire displaced laborers as cleaners and construction workers via cash for work programs amounting to P2.5 billion, Teo said.</p><p>The cleanup began ahead of the Labor Day holiday, which in recent years saw Manila dwellers descend on Boracay to turn it into a party island.</p><p>The government will spend P1.1-billion to build a sewage and waste water facility and P29 million to restore forests and wetlands. Roads will also be widened, officials said.</p><p>Officials moved to clean up the island after President Rodrigo Duterte in February flagged pollution in the island, likening its effects to a &quot;cesspool.&quot;</p><ul class="op-related-articles"><li><a href="http://news.abs-cbn.com/news/02/10/18/duterte-slams-boracay-as-cesspool-threatens-to-shut-down-island">Duterte slams Boracay as ‘cesspool,’ threatens to shut down island</a></li></ul><p>Shortly after sunrise on Thursday, the coast guard surrounded portions of the island with buoys to mark restricted areas. Some 600 security personnel will guard the island during the cleanup.</p><p>The 4-kilometer stretch of Boracay&#x27;s White Beach was also free from boat sails, vendors and early morning swimmers.</p><p>Don, a 31-year-old waiter at a hotel famed for its four-cheese pizza said he would be temporarily reassigned to Palawan Island.</p><p>But he hopes Boracay will bounce back. Teo had floated the idea of the Philippines hosting the Miss Universe pageant to coincide with the island&#x27;s reopening.</p><p>&quot;Sana pag balik namin dito, mas okay na, mas malinis na, marami na &#x27;uling turista,&quot; he said.</p><p>(My hope is that when we come back, things will be okay. It will be cleaner and with more tourists.)</p>

<p>Jonnel Tamayo ferried the last batch of tourists on his tricycle and said goodbye to a salary that rivals a Manila executive, as the Philippines on Thursday shut down its most popular tourist island to rid its waters of human waste.</p>

Jonnel Tamayo ferried the last batch of tourists on his tricycle and said goodbye to a salary that rivals a Manila executive, as the Philippines on Thursday shut down its most popular tourist island to rid its waters of human waste.