In case you’ve just woken up from a six-month long coma (we have so many questions), President Duterte ordered the closure of Boracay last April to rehabilitate the island after years of environmental abuse from tourists, local companies, and the government. A cesspool, the president had called it. Ensuing this was an island-wide clean up, with the government scrambling to scrub off all the trash and make the lands arable again. Half a year later, the island is poised to open its doors once more this Oct. 26, though with some changes.
After all that hullaballoo, you’d think that people would try to keep the island clean at least for the first few days of its opening, right?
Wrong.
In a now-viral post, Cherie Mercado posted pictures that showed plastic littering the island just a few hours after the dry run of its opening started.
There are so many things wrong with this picture. First of all, clean your messes, people. Cebu Pacific donated trash bins placed directly on the beach front to prevent people from just dumping their garbage anywhere after failing to find a bin. I’m sure there are plenty more trash cans around the island too. Use them.
Thank you @CebuPacificAir for donating these beautiful trash bins, which are now being placed around Boracay island.
No more excuses to litter. Throw your trash in the garbage bins, where they belong. Keep our beaches clean and pristine. #betterboracay #responsibletourism pic.twitter.com/2BJj0v2hKH
— Berna Romulo Puyat (@BernaPuyat) October 16, 2018
Second, aren’t single-use plastics already banned in Boracay? What’s that plastic spoon doing there?
Lastly, come on. I don’t understand how you can be in Boracay, be aware of all the changes, and still litter just hours after the dry run. Not taking responsibility for your actions is literally what got us to this point. Remember, people whose jobs revolved around the island’s tourism sector had their lives turned upside down for the past six months. If people continue dumping their trash everywhere despite all these changes, the island will revert to its old state. Do we really want Boracay to be a cesspool again?
Featured photo courtesy of Pixabay
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