DOT hopeful Boracay to reopen October 26

Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat on Tuesday said she is hopeful that Boracay island would be reopened to tourists on October 26.

"We are hoping that Boracay will be opened October 26," Puyat told reporters on the sidelines of the Makati Business Club (MBC) Annual Meeting in Makati City.

The entire island of Boracay was ordered closed to tourists for six months starting April 26, as ordered by President Rodrigo Duterte.

The six-month rehabilitation of the island was recommended by the DENR, the DOT, and the DILG last month after Duterte threatened to close down the island after he described the tourist destination as a "cesspool."

Duterte last month said businesses will be allowed back into the island once the rehabilitation is done, provided that locals of the area will be given full priority in terms of land reform.

"We have the Boracay Task Force rehab group where the head is the DENR (Department of Environment and Natural Resources)," said Puyat.

"I am praying that it will open, again, provided that all the laws are complied with. We are now complying with all the environmental laws," she explained. — Jon Viktor D. Cabuenas/RSJ, GMA News