Boracay

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The first time I visited Boracay was in the mid-1980s, it had already gained fame among adventurous European travelers who had heard about the pristine white and powdery sand beach of the island in the 1970s.

What I saw then was the beginning of small thatched houses serving as bare-bone accommodations, without electricity, makeshift bathrooms and toilets for the rugged and adventurous travelers. Most were run by local families who owned property on the island.

The then pristine white, powdery sand beach was a sight and a delight to walk on compared to what I had been more familiar with in nearby Naic, Cavite where my uncle and aunt had a beachfront property and another summer favorite, Matabungkay Beach in Lian, Batangas with its black sand and pebbly beach.

Boracay’s water, in comparison,  was a clear, shimmering silver blue, and from the banca you could see clear through the water corals and live fish. Access to the island from Caticlan, Aklan was through double-outrigger or double katig bancas. We did not sleep in Boracay and instead opted for a hotel in Caticlan.

The next time I visited Boracay was almost a decade later in the mid-1990s, and I was shocked by the transformation and development of the famed island. The beachfront thatched facilities were gone, replaced by cement beachfront resorts with more upscale accommodations. D’Mall had become the de facto shopping area.

I was disappointed. The magic of the pristine beach had been lost for me.

I returned a couple of more times and, in the early 2000s, when I had already taken up scuba diving, I had the opportunity to dive around the island and was sorely disappointed with the death of the coral life.

Similarly, behind the coveted beachfront properties sprung a helter-skelter development of cheap hotels and stores, with a sandy road that would turn into muddy tracks when it rained.

I basically stopped going to Boracay, it was paradise lost for me.

The last time I visited Boracay was probably 15  or  20 years ago, and I was even more disgusted from the commercialization of the once paradise island, with big commercial hotels and overrun with both local and foreign tourists. The sand was no longer white, but a dirty, pasty cream. It was noisy with the bars and actually dangerous with the narrow cemented road at the back with speeding tricycles and small vans. Garbage was now a big problem and the cost of everything on the island was so inflated.

Thus, I am bit puzzled now by this outcry about finally building a bridge access to the island, especially complaints about environmental degradation.

What degradation? It had  occurred way back in the 1990s, maybe even by mid 1980s when it finally dawned on the landowners that the island was a tourist goldmine.

The inefficient and expensive boat transfers have been a motherlode for the operators who wish to continue its lock hold on the island. Honestly, in this modern world, a bridge is the logical  solution to the island’s modernization, it would lower cost all around instead of being held hostage to boat operators.

In fact, if local government officials really want to decongest Boracay, they should limit new development on the island and free up more of the beach area  from  commercial establishments who put up their chairs and tables on the public sand beach.

It seems some of those opposing San Miguel Corp.’s  proposed P7.78-billion Boracay Bridge project are simply trying to use the environmental degradation card to retain their grip on their monopoly of access to the island.

To be honest, most of the coral destruction is caused by the careless use of anchors by banca and boat owners. The diving community had observed that banca anchors are dropped carelessly on corals and further destruction is caused when the anchors are dragged along the sandy bottom, destroying and pulverizing the fragile coral environment.

Thus, in Batangas (at least during my diving days), the diving community worked with local governments to install buoys where the bancas are suppose to attach their anchors instead of dropping them on the ocean floor and on top of the fragile corals.

SMC has said that  the proposed bridge is designed as a controlled-access link that will support tourism while improving the movement of essential goods, waste, utilities, emergency services and regulated transport between Caticlan and Boracay.

The project is not intended to open Boracay to unrestricted vehicle access. Vehicle use would be limited to authorized vehicles under rules to be set by local and national authorities.

The bridge will also not add hotel rooms, raise tourist caps or change Boracay’s carrying-capacity limits.

Again, I argue it is the local officials who are responsible for granting building permits to developers. They have the sole authority to do that. The overdevelopment of Boracay was done without the bridge.

The proposed bridge, according to SMC,  is  meant to complement, not replace, the existing boat crossing between Caticlan and Boracay. Passenger movement through the jetty port is expected to remain operational, while the bridge would take on functions better handled through a controlled land connection, including waste movement, cargo, utilities and emergency access.

The project can help reduce pressure on the marine corridor, where boats and barges currently carry not only passengers but also goods, supplies, waste and other essential services.

Boracay is home to about 40,000 permanent residents based on the 2020 Census of Population and Housing. Because most basic goods must be transported across the strait, residents and businesses absorb higher logistics costs that the bridge can help reduce by making goods delivery more efficient.

The bridge is also expected to improve access for senior citizens, persons with disabilities and residents with mobility limitations, especially during emergencies and for trips to the mainland for medical care, government services, work, school or family needs.