--- description: President Rodrigo Duterte ordered Boracay closed to tourists for 6 months to address raw sewage being dumped in the island's pristine waters title: Popular Philippines Island Shuts Down for Sewage Cleanup image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt85154d4fd625a2d9/69892cdccf40a8325dc4bd89/gettyimages-482478168.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Philippines](/tag/philippines/) ## Philippines Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # The Philippines' Most Popular Island Is Shutting Down for Sewage Cleanup by [Eli Meixler](/author/eli/) ## Eli Meixler Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 5, 2018 3:27 AM CUT  A man plays volleyball on White Beach in Boracay, Philippines, on July 29, 2015. A man plays volleyball on White Beach in Boracay, Philippines, on July 29, 2015.Sanjit Das—Bloomberg/Getty Images by [Eli Meixler](/author/eli/) ## Eli Meixler Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 5, 2018 3:27 AM CUT Holiday plans may be foiled, but the Philippines’ government claims it is saving tourists from an even worse fate: swimming in raw sewage. The country is [shuttering](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/apr/05/philippines-boracay-holiday-island-sewage-closed-duterte?CMP=share%5Fbtn%5Ftw "undefined") the tropical island of Boracay for six months due to its waste treatment problem, Agence France-Presse reports. A regular feature of holiday destination lists, Boracay is known for its white sand beaches and lively nightlife, but has earned a more dubious reputation lately for raw sewage reportedly being dumped into its pristine waters. Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte [threatened](http://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/incidents/the-punisher-says-island-paradise-is-a-cesspool/news-story/66ba1fb95049596498961abaa7b6adcf "undefined") to close the island in February, calling it a “cesspool” and complaining that the water was “smelly.” The suspension was [announced](https://twitter.com/attyharryroque/status/981524846441050113 "undefined") Wednesday on Twitter by Duterte’s spokesperson. Officials said nearly 200 businesses and thousands of local residents are not connected to underground sewer lines, and warned untreated waste was entering the island’s natural waters through its drainage system. In February, the government ordered the [closure](http://news.abs-cbn.com/news/02/14/18/denr-orders-closure-of-51-boracay-establishments-as-cleanup-begins "undefined") of 51 businesses and threatened another 300 with fines for violating environmental regulations. “An iron fist is needed to bring it back to its previous condition, said Philippines’ environment undersecretary Jonas Leones, promising that the tourism suspension would be “a temporary thing.” But ban has already raised fears among local residents that it will dry up the tourism industry, which employs about 17,000 people on the island. Boracay, one of the Philippines’ top tourism destinations, welcomed 2 million visitors in 2017 and raked in [$1.07 billion](http://pia.gov.ph/news/articles/1003886 "undefined") in revenue, according to government statistics. Boracay isn’t the only beach taking a breather: Thailand announced in February that Maya Beach would be [closed](https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2018/feb/14/thailand-maya-bay-the-beach-movie-close-to-tourists-leonardo-dicaprio "undefined") for four months starting in June, in an effort to permit its damaged coral reefs time to mend. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5228802/philippines-duterte-close-boracay-6-months/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5228802/philippines-duterte-close-boracay-6-months/"},"headline":"The Philippines' Most Popular Island Is Shutting Down for Sewage Cleanup","datePublished":"2018-04-05T03:27:33.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T19:52:44.857Z","description":"President Rodrigo Duterte says it has become a 'cesspool' of untreated waste","url":"https://time.com/5228802/philippines-duterte-close-boracay-6-months/","keywords":["Philippines","onetime","overnight"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt85154d4fd625a2d9/69892cdccf40a8325dc4bd89/gettyimages-482478168.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eli Meixler","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/eli/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt85154d4fd625a2d9/69892cdccf40a8325dc4bd89/gettyimages-482478168.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Tourist Economy As The Peso Proves Resilient To Prospect Of Fed Increase","caption":"Tourist Economy As The Peso Proves Resilient To Prospect Of Fed Increase","creditText":"Sanjit Das—Bloomberg/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/philippines/","name":"Philippines"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5228802/philippines-duterte-close-boracay-6-months/","name":"The Philippines' Most Popular Island Is Shutting Down for Sewage Cleanup"}}]}] ```