Tourism operations may resume at half-capacity not only in Boracay but other destinations under modified general community quarantine, Malacañang said yesterday.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said Bohol, Baguio City, and other travel destinations are expected to reopen but only at 50 percent operational capacity to local travelers.
The Boracay inter-agency task force recently allowed to reopen the popular beach island to tourists from Western Visayas on June 16 amid the government’s easing of quarantine restrictions.
“Lahat naman po ng MGCQ areas ay magbubukas na ng 50 percent para sa turismo. So ang alam ko po ang mga lugar gaya ng Bohol, Baguio, lahat po iyan ay magbubukas na rin for turismo,” Roque said in an interview over GMA’s “Unang Hirit” program.
“Pero hinay-hinay nga po ang gagawin natin at saka ang pangunahin na magiging kliyente ng mga lugar na ito ay mga Pilipino, kasi kakaunti din naman po ang mga dayuhan na pumapasok ngayon,” he added.
The Boracay rehabilitation task force recently approved the Aklan local government’s recommendation to reopen Boracay on June 16 but only for residents from the Western Visayas region in a bid to boost the local economy.
The decision was reached following the visit of task force chair Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Roy Cimatu and co-chairs Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo Año and Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat.
Since June 1, the country has been placed under general community quarantine except for Metro Manila and some areas now under modified general community quarantine. The quarantine classification will expire on June 15. The
President is expected to make a decision on Monday on whether to lift, extend or upgrade the country’s quarantine status based on health and economic factors.
Under the quarantine guidelines, the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Disease ruled that the movement of persons for any purpose across areas placed under MGCQ and areas where no community quarantine is in place shall be permitted. On tourism travel, the same may still be subject to regulations of the concerned local government unit or in the case of Boracay Island, the Boracay Inter-Agency Task Force (BIATF). (Genalyn Kabiling)
