The Department of Tourism has also released a new list of Boracay establishments where tourists may stay once the island reopens. Romulo-Puyat said the island’s reopening on Oct. 26 is just the first phase of the island’s rehabilitation. She said the second phase will be completed on April 2019, while the third phase is expected to be completed by December 2019. The island was closed in April to give way to a massive cleanup and the rehabilitation of its roads and sewerage system after President Rodrigo Duterte called the tourist destination a “cesspool.”

Tourist arrivals up by 8.4 percent in August even with Boracay closure. (2018, October 15). Panay News, p. B1.