Borscht Philippines

https://mobile.nytimes.com/2018/04/04/world/asia/boracay-philippines-tourists-closed.html?rref=collection/sectioncollection/asia&mtrref=www.nytimes.com&mtrref=www.nytimes.com

BORACAY, Philippines — A Philippine island that became famous for the white sand beaches and coral reefs that made it a haven for travelers, and then for the rapid development and pollution that threatened its idyllic shores, has been ordered closed to tourists for six months.

President Rodrigo Duterte — who has said that inadequate sewage treatment on the island, Boracay, has turned its beaches into a “cesspool” — directed that it be closed to tourism starting on April 26, his spokesman, Harry Roque, said Wednesday.

That decision threatens the livelihoods of thousands of people on Boracay, a speck of an island in the central Philippines that has become a travel destination to rival Phuket, in Thailand, and Bali, in Indonesia.

Mr. Duterte has said that Boracay must be cleaned up, but officials have given no indication that there is a plan to do so. Yet last month, the government signed an agreement with Galaxy Entertainment, a Macau-based casino operator, and a Philippine partner to begin construction next year on a $500 million beachfront casino that would add to the burdens on the island’s infrastructure.

Maybe the timing was just coincidence, but I can say that it is very odd,” said Nenette Graf, president of an alliance of Boracay’s hotels, restaurants and other businesses. “You want to close the island, but at the same time allow a casino operator in?”

Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu, who recently met with Boracay business owners, acknowledged the contradiction, a local newspaper reported, but noted that the new casino would need to secure an environmental clearance certificate from his agency before opening.