ONE of the Philippines’ most famous tourist hot spots will be off limits from April 26 after President Rodrigo Duterte approves a six-month closure of Boracay island, paving the way for a major clean-up of what he has described as a “cesspool.”

Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque announced the closure late on Wednesday in a post on Twitter. The threat of closure first emerged in February when Duterte blasted the tiny island’s hundreds of tourism-related hotels, restaurants and other businesses, accusing them of dumping sewage directly into the sea and turning it into a “cesspool”.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte announces the six-month closure of the island of Boracay in the Philippines, starting April 26.