After the Boracay rehabilitation, President Rodrigo Duterte didn’t want the people of the said tourist spot to recognize him for cleaning the said island and ordered to ban any ‘Thank you’ banners dedicated to him.
This was confirmed by Department of Tourism (DOT) Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat, saying that Duterte doesn’t want to be glorified by the people of Boracay because he’s only doing his job as the President.
“I saw a post – someone sent it to me – which says, ‘Thank you PRDD for Saving Boracay’,” Puyat said, adding, “It was even nailed to a tree.”
When Puyat informed Duterte about the banners, the former Davao City Mayor who doesn’t want to see himself from tarpaulins got angry.
“He said that is corny. He doesn’t like it. He doesn’t want to be glorified,” she said.
After President Duterte’s order, Puyat quickly reminded the Boracay Interagency Task Force (BIATF) to remove the banners dedicated to the chief executive.
She also informed other cabinet members to prevent anyone from posting ‘Thank You’ banners around Boracay.
Duterte is known for not imitating other politicians who use banners to inform the people about their achievements.
In a business forum held on February 9, 2018, President Rodrigo Duterte announced his plan to close Boracay and called it a ‘cesspool’ for being crowded and unsanitary.
Two months later, Boracay was finally closed despite being opposed by some residents of Malay fearing that they might not get another new source of income while the island was closed.
After six months of rehabilitation, the government finally opened Boracay to the public, implementing new rules that would prevent the island to be abused again.
Under the new rules, 19,200 tourists per day will be allowed on the island. Moreover, fire eaters, masseuses, vendors, stray dogs, bonfires and even the builders of photo-op sandcastles have been banned from the beachfront. All water sports, aside for swimming, are also forbidden for the time being.
DOT would also prohibit smoking and drinking alcohol in public places and beaches of Boracay.
The famous ‘Laboracay’ was also banned as part of the reform.