Life Guard Boracay and BAG remain alert

Island administrator Glenn Sacapaño, on Friday, said Boracay Life Guard is always prepared and there was no need for a special preparation for the celebration of the feast of St. John the Baptist which is set on Sunday the 24th of June.

Aside from the Life Guard, Sacapaño said the Boracay Action Group (BAG) is constantly monitoring the island for unlikely events. The group is likewise on alert and ready to respond. However, he advises them to impose self-discipline when participating in the festivities to avoid misfortunes especially if it involves swimming in the sea.

He reminded everyone to avoid swimming while under the influence of alcohol.

Also expected to patrol the beach are divers and Coast Guard with K9 units to ensure safety of swimmers during the celebration, according to Lt. Commander Terrence Alsosa, Philippine Coast Guard Station Commander of Caticlan.

Aside from the island of Boracay, Alsosa said that they are monitoring other towns in Aklan. He said he alerted the Philippine Coast Guard Auxiliary (PCGA) to monitor the towns of Numancia, Buruanga, Caticlan and especially New Washington which is most visited during the feast of St. John the Baptist.

First ever Firing Range in Boracay, endorsed

On Tuesday, June 19th the Town Council of Malay had approved the 2nd and final reading of the resolution that endorses the construction of a firing range in the island of Boracay particularly in Barangay Yapak.

This has been promoted without any objections from the council, aside from some questions which was readily answered.

However, it was learned that this proposed construction of a firing range has not been clearly discussed with the Yapak Council, according to its Barangay secretary during an interview last Thursday.

If this will push through, this will be the first ever firing range in the Boracay.

Although this was not the first endorsed proposition, in fact this projected firing range is already the second.

The first was endorsed by the SB way back in 2009 but wasn’t pursued.

This, according to Council Secretary Concordia Alcantara, is because of the difficult process of acquiring a permit from Camp Crame.

The Town Council of Malay Gets Ready for the Planned Environmental Fee Collection From Tourists by the Town Council of Kalibo

The Town Council of Malay is getting ready in connection to the plan of the Town Council of Kalibo.

The Town Council of Kalibo is planning to pass an ordinance to also charge tourists passing by Kalibo with Environmental Fee.

While it is the Town Council of Kalibo which is making the plan, it is foreseen by the Malay’s Town Council that its existing ordinance might be compared with the planned ordinance and that Malay’s Town Council will be questioned regarding the matter. With this, the Town Council of Malay believes it is necessary to be ready for such possibility.

For the Town Council of Malay, the collection of environmental in Boracay is justified since tourists stay in Boracay for days while tourists only pass by Kalibo.

The Town Council of Malay added that if Environmental Fee will be collected by Kalibo, there would be too many fees to be collected from tourists: from the Terminal Fee at the airport, there are also Environmental Fee at the Cagban and Caticlan Jetty Ports.

Malay’s Town Council expressed hope that the Provincial Council of Aklan would weigh things completely before making a decision on the planned ordinance.

DOST Aklan targets distribution of OL traps to schools

The Department of Health DOH and the Department of Science and Technology DOST in Aklan aim to provide the schools with Ovicidal-Larvicidal Traps or OL Traps kit.

This is to stop the spread of mosquitoes which is the carrier of dengue.

According to DOST-Aklan Chief, Jairus Lachica they are expected to return to Boracay to distribute the said OL Traps.

This time however, their targets are no longer the households of the three Barangays in the island, but the schools here.

He also stated that the DOH decides which area should be accommodated first.

This is because it is the DOH which covers certain areas in Aklan in which there are cases and or recorded victims of dengue.

Meanwhile, since these kits will be dispensed to the whole province of Aklan, Lachica believes that the province has enough supplies for the Aklanons.

He also added that these OL Traps are for free and cannot be bought from drug stores in the region.

The OL Trap is a kit which is placed in areas that are potential breeding place for mosquitoes, which will lay their eggs in the trap instead, in order for them to be immediately eradicated.

E-Trike Questions to Be Answered on the 28th of June by The Department of Energy

The Town Council session on Tuesday was filled with different reactions about the e-trike issue.

Thus the Council made the decision to set the issue aside and hand the answering of questions about the e-trike to the Department of Energy (DOE).

The Land Transportation Office (LTO)-Aklan has no position with regard to the operation of the e-trike in Boracay. Likewise, the Local Government of Malay has no laws that regulate and governs the operation of the vehicle.

Hence, for now the status of the e-trike remains a question to the public especially to the Boracay Land Transportation Multi Purpose Cooperative (BLTMPC).

According to Town Council Member Dante Pagsugiron, the LTO has been consulted once about the status of the e-trike but no answer was given and that e-trikes will not also be caught arbitrarily.

In order to answer the questions and issues regarding the matter, a meeting was set by the Local Government of Malay on the 28th of June in Boracay. The meeting will coincide with the presentation of the DOE about the government’s program that has to do with the e-trike.

Electric Bill increase this June, explained by AKELCO

The 0.64 centavos for residential and 0.43 centavos for commercial per kilowatt hour increase in electric bills this June is another burden for both common households and businessmen.

However, according to Aklan Electric Cooperative (AKELCO) General Manager Chito Peralta during an interview yesterday morning, this is just temporary for the month of June because it will roll back again next month

He readily cleared out the consumer's doubt on this matter by saying that they should not worry about this.

Peralta explained that this has occurred due to the insufficient electric supply in Aklan, requiring them to obtain additional supply from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM).

Although this is one of the four energy sources of AKELCO, they are only incurring 10% from them, the reason they acquired additional energy in order to cover the insufficient supply which will then be distributed to the consumers.

This followed after one of their suppliers' encountered a problem which caused a higher demand especially during peak hour or 6 o’clock in the evening.

Three months ago, AKELCO had a charge increase, but because the problem was immediately fixed, this was followed by a roll back which happened twice.

That is why it is expected, said the General Manager that the same will happen and assured that this increase is only for this month.

First Two Days of the Color Coding Scheme Successful-BLTMPC

The first and second days of the Color Coding Scheme on tricycles, was successful according to the Boracay Land Transportation Multi-purpose Cooperative (BLTMPC).  

The scheme was implemented on Friday and Saturday in the resort Island of Boracay.

However, according to the BLTMPC a different color was seen plying the streets of the island aside from the scheduled blue or yellow colors.

The other color being referred to is the green colored e-trikes according to the General Manager of BLTMPC, Ryan Tubi.  

Tubi added that if there is a tricycle roaming on the streets which is not scheduled, the agreement is that a signboard saying “for personal or family use” should be put up. This is to avoid transgressing the Color Coding Scheme.

BLTMPC’s E-trikes, cheaper than those which came in first

Boracay Land Transportation Multi-purpose Cooperative o BLTMPC had bought e-trikes from a supplier with a cost which is 50% cheaper than those first e-trikes that the local government of Malay had permitted.

According to Ryan Tubi, BLTMPC’s General Manager, this will lead to the transition of the traditional tricycles in exchange to vehicles that do not emit smoke to protect the environment of the island.

They had searched for a supplier that will provide the units for Boracay, as the SB had told that the cooperative could look for a supplier which would require a lesser cost.

He also revealed that the reason for them to opt for another supplier and not at the same one where the first e-trikes were bought is because it costs almost 50% more.

Meanwhile as a reaction to what SB Member Welbic Gelito and Dante Pagsugiron explained to why the green e-trikes charges for its service, Mr. Tubi said they were not suppose to do that (charging) because the quality of the e-trikes is the subject of the test-drive and not how much profit can the unit accumulate.

That is why, according to him, BLTMPC’s 3 units’ service is free of charge as they are doing the test drive if these e-trikes could sustain the roads in Boracay.

It was previously stated by the two mentioned councilors that the council permits the green e-trikes, which is managed by Pagsugiron, to charge their service in order to see if these units could gain income or could take back their expenses on its everyday operation.

KIA Awaits for the Decision on Its Proposed Terminal Fee Hike from the CAAP

A decision from the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), with regard to the proposed Terminal Fee increase by the Kalibo International Airport (KIA), is expected by next week.

According to the KIA Manager Engr. Percy Malonesio, KIA is currently waiting for the decision of CAAP after a Public Hearing conducted in the town of Kalibo two weeks ago.

In relation to this, the Terminal Fee for International Flights is still at P500. While the Terminal Fee for Domestic Flights is still at P40.

Malonesio, however, believes that the proposed Terminal Fee increase will no longer be a problem to passengers based on the held Public Hearing.

KIA proposed for a Terminal Fee increase for the maintenance of the airport. If the proposed increase will be approved, the new Terminal Fee for Domestic Flights will be increased from P40 to P200, and for International Flights from P500 to P700.

Strict Implementation of Color Coding Scheme starts today

The local government is to start the strict implementation of seizing of tricycles which would infract the Color Coding Scheme in the island of Boracay.

Based on the statement of Island Administrator, Glenn Sacapaño, this has already been started last Friday, June 15, 2012 by the Boracay Land Transportation Multi Purpose Cooperative or BLTMPC.

However since June 15 was declared to be an official holiday this has been held up, thereby declaring this day for the formal implementation of the said scheme.

In this light, tricycles that are on trip during 6 am to 6 pm that are not on the schedule are expected to be apprehended.

Meanwhile the dry run of the color coding last Friday has been successful and effective as it resulted to lesser traffic on the island as anticipated.

However the problem with the traffic wasn’t 100% cleared, because some tricycles are still practicing illegal parking’s and u-turns, as well as improper loading and un-loading causing the traffic to build up.

Aside from this, it has been observed that many commuters were not accommodated as most units were already loaded.