"LIGHT BORACAY a CHRISTMAS STAR" bECAME a "BONDING TIME"

 The “Light Boracay a Christmas Star” event held by the Municipal Tourism Office on December 14 served as a bonding time for the 17 villages of Malay.

This was how the event was described by Malay Mayor John Yap.

Although, the event was held in Boracay and the lighting, displaying of “Parols” or Christmas Stars and other decorations was in Balabag, Boracay Island, all the village Chairmen of Malay attended, supported and also joined the “Parol making Contest.”

This allegedly delighted the Malay Mayor since the occasion wherein the Village Chairmen, the Town Councilmen of Malay, stakeholders, and the whole community getting together, is unusual since everyone is busy at work.

More so with the Mayor who was allegedly busy for Boracay, and on what the Mayor was busy on, assurance was given that everyone will benefit from it not only the island of Boracay.

Christmas in Boracay, generally peaceful

“Generally Peaceful”

This is the term that can describe the celebration of Christmas in Boracay this year.

According to the Boracay Tourist Assistance Center or BTAC, there been have no reports of serious crimes few days before Christmas.

If there is, it is mostly petty crimes such as drunken commotion and minor cases of theft.

In line with this, the authority still reminds the public to be aware and careful enough against robbers and burglars.

It added that, the people should make it a habit to secure any possible “entry points” for robbers in any household and establishments.

It is also very important for the public to stay alert, as thieves nowadays are wiser that they monitor the area beforehand prior to committing the crime.

Yapak bagged award as the “Cleanest and Organized” Barangay

Barangay Yapak took home the award as Malay’s “Cleanest and Organized” Barangay for 2012.

This is in line with the conducted contest b the Municipality of Malay which was spearheaded by the Municipal Tourism Office (MTO) and was a Beautification Program of the four Barangays which are the tourist’s direct destination.

This includes Brgy, Caticlan - which is the entry point of Boracay – Manoc-manoc, Balabag, and Yapak.

Yapak bagged the mentioned award and took home a 20,000 pesos cash prize.

While Yapak’s closest contender, Barangay Manoc-manoc landed on second place and received Php 15,000.

Caticlan came on 3rd with Php 10,000 and Balabag at 4th with 5,000 pesos.

The judges based on the preparations and results of the community’s cooperation in cleaning their areas as well as the decorations on the main road which would look desirable to tourists.

Meanwhile the MTO clarified that the judge’s criteria did not include or is separate from the also ongoing contest among the Zones/Seldas in Barangay Balabag saying they are only focusing on the main roads.

The result of this MTO contest was revealed during the LGU Malay’s Christmas Party held last December 22.

GARBAGE PROBLEM iN BORACAY tO bE FOCUSED uPON iN 2013

The call to action regarding the problem on garbage is being remedied with commitment.

According to Island Administrator, and current Solid Waste Management Manager, Glenn Sacapaño, the collection of garbage during midnight has been added so that garbage will not remain uncollected. Garbage trucks also start collecting garbage at four in the morning.

However, it is unavoidable that there are instances wherein some garbage in the streets remains uncollected by seven am due to the sheer volume of garbage to be collected.

Nevertheless, everything is allegedly done to prevent garbage becoming the cause of damage of Boracay.

Sacapaño admitted that their task is difficult at present especially that the number of people in Boracay is not decreasing, rather, it is increasing.

The increase in population and number of tourists is being pointed upon by the Administrator on the garbage problem since allegedly, the 1Million tourists arrival was expected to be reached by 2017 but it is only 2012 and the target has been surpassed.

According to the official, they will be focusing on the garbage collection problem in the year 2013.

Eighteen truckloads of garbage are collected daily.

Workers and or employees in Boracay, around 17,000

This year there are almost 17,000 workers and or employees in Boracay.

This is according to Malay Public employment Officer (PESO) Dennis Briones during an interview.

Briones said that they have a record of 12,000 employees from different establishments in the island.

And this does not include the construction workers and laborers.

If they however will be counted the number could reach up to 16,000.

Moreover, he said that the drivers which are more than 100 have yet to be added.

Meanwhile the X-ray examination for employees as a requirement for them to acquire a Health Certificate, particularly the front liners and food handlers, is targeted to be implemented in January.

If this will push through, thousands of people will need access to x-ray machines. It was learned that there’s only three of these in the Municipality of Malay, one in Boracay Hospital, one in a private Clinic, and another at the Baptist Hospital in Caticlan.