Riot police to keep tourists at bay during Boracay closure

19 Apr 2018 2047 | World Travel News

The Philippine government earlier this week announced that it will deploy riot police to keep travellers out and head off potential protests ahead of Boracay’s six-month closure to tourists, AFP reported.

A lockdown plan was laid out by the authorities on Tuesday, which will see the deployment of more than 600 police, including a 138-member “crowd dispersal unit”, to keep out all foreign and Filipino tourists from the once idyllic beach destination.

Boracay will be closed for six months to fix sewage and environment-related problems

Entry to the famed island, located 300km south of Manila, will be limited to a single small sea port.

Media access to Boracay during the shutdown period will also be strictly controlled, with accreditation required by the Department of Tourism.

Meanwhile, Boracay residents will be obliged to carry new identification cards and will be banned from boating and night swimming, according to the report.