The popular Boracay Island in Malay, Aklan, Palawan and Siargao in Surigao del Norte recently and have consistently secured spots in the Condé Nast Traveler Top 10 Readers’ Choice Awards. Boracay placed third, Palawan earned sixth while Siargao got tenth place.

Condé Nast Traveler is among the media brands owned by Condé Nast, a global mass media company which also owns Vogue, The New Yorker, GQ, Glamour, Architectural Digest, Vanity Fair, Pitchfork, Wired and Bon Appétit. Its Wikipedia data boasts of 72 million consumers in print, 394 million in digital and 454 million in social media platforms. Thus, being included in the Top 10 List is not merely something but a big thing that as a Filipino I must be proud of.

Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco of the Tourism Department said that the achievement reflects the hard work, dedication and sustainable tourism efforts of the country, from the local communities, national and local government agencies and stakeholders who have strived tirelessly to preserve and enhance the beauty of the world recognized islands.

I can speak a little about Palawan and Siargao. Twice I have travelled to Palawan and I am always in awe of the crystal clear sea water and superbly clean shoreline of its public beaches. In Siargao, I just love the very laid back lifestyle, very affordable accommodation and food. Since it’s more of a surfing destination, I must say that I did enjoy the attempt to stand on the surfboard but I can’t really appreciate the beaches except in island beach areas. Though I must say that it’s the island where I had the best memories in my life engraved.

Boracay on the other hand is closer to where I live. It’s just a five hour drive away from the city. No one can contest the powdery white sand it possesses but I can no longer say that it’s the most tranquil place to stay given the ultra modern amenities and facilities it offers. Of course, I don’t want to impose my opinion on anyone. The desire for peace or appreciation of a peaceful place is relative.

What I want to say though is on how the community and the local government of Malay and Aklan manage its resources to maintain the cleanliness and order in the island. Like in several decades that I have frequented it, the environmental fees and terminal fees are really expensive and given the hundreds of thousands of guests coming in everyday it’s really hard to imagine why they cannot even build a presentable and sustainable terminal for the passengers. Boracay has been there since time immemorial but it’s just now that they started building a terminal in Tabon that is being used during southwest monsoon wind season. In the island part, the terminal is still makeshift.

Last week, I stayed there for five days and I have observed that the garbage on the shoreline brought by the southwest monsoon waves are littered all over the place. Some people, perhaps paid workers are picking up the wood wastes and plastic wastes but are not enough to cover the whole stretch. Given the amount of environmental fees collected on a daily basis which could reach to several millions of pesos monthly, it’s hard to imagine why the provincial government of Aklan and the local government of Malay cannot purchase a motorized or mechanized garbage picker or hauler that can be used early in the morning to clean and clear the beach area.

This is not to put down the ranking of Boracay and the prestige of being included in the Condè Nast Traveler List. But, I don’t think Boracay can afford another closure just to cleanse it. Secretary Frasco is not blind but for sure she hasn’t seen Boracay on a daily or regular basis. The local governments of Aklan and Malay and even Brgy. Caticlan must do their share diligently in protecting and cleaning the island.