ASIA / PACIFIC
Page 4 n THE ASIAN REPORTER
April 16, 2018
Philippines to shut polluted isle
Duterte called a “cesspool”
By Aaron Favila
The Associated Press
ANILA, The Philippines —
Philippine
President
Rodrigo
Duterte
has
approved the closure of the tourist
destination of Boracay for up to six
months after saying the waters off its
famed white-sand beaches had
become a “cesspool” due to over-
crowding and development.
Duterte approved the total
shutdown of Boracay as a tourist
destination starting April 26 in a
cabinet meeting after extensive
discussions of its impact, including
ways to help about 17,000 workers
who may be displaced, tourism un-
dersecretary Frederick Alegre said.
“This is not about profit, it’s about
the political will to deal with years of
neglect of the environment,” Alegre
said. “We need to act swiftly to save
the island and avert its further
deterioration.”
Last February, Duterte said
Boracay’s water has turned into a
“cesspool” with human waste being
discharged into the sea.
More than 2 million tourists visited
Boracay last year to enjoy its powdery
beaches, spectacular sunsets, and
festive nightlife, generating about 56
billion pesos ($1 billion) in revenue.
But the influx of tourists, neglected
infrastructure, and growth of resort
establishments and poor settlements
have threatened to turn Boracay into
a “dead island” in less than a decade,
according to a government study.
The island can only sustain 30,000
people, but teems with 70,000 at any
time, including 50,000 residents and
daily arrivals of about 20,000
tourists, Alegre said.
Hundreds of settlers have also
illegally built homes and structures
M
MOUNTAIN MAN. Nepalese veteran Sherpa guide Kami Rita, 48,
right, poses with his wife Lakpa Jangmu, 45, at his rented apartment in
Kathmandu, Nepal. Rita, who is one of just three people to scale Mount
Everest 21 times, is attempting a record-breaking 22nd summit. (AP
Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
Sherpa guide tries to reach
top of the world for 22nd time
Continued from page 2
“The dangers are still
there: the crevasses are
deep and the slopes are
unpredictable. But we are
not climbing blind like we
used to. We are better
informed about weather
and other conditions on the
mountain,” he said. “Even
our clients are more aware
and they train themselves
for at least a year before
attempting Everest.”
Still, he wants the num-
ber of Everest climbers to
be limited. The mountain
has only a brief window of
weather good enough for
summit attempts, nor-
mally in mid-May, a situ-
ation that now regularly
results in mountaineering
traffic jams. “On those days
there are hundreds of
climbers hanging onto
ropes to reach the top,” he
said.
Mountaineering
has
been Rita’s professional
life. But it still weighs
heavily on his family.
His wife, Lakpa Jangmu,
dreads when he leaves for
expeditions.
“I keep telling him we
could look for other jobs,
start a small business,” she
said. “But he does not listen
to me at all.”
The family profession,
though, is ending.
Their
two
children
attend a private school in
Kathmandu, getting an
education their parents
could not have imagined
back in their home villages.
Rita and Jangmu both
insist their children will
not be mountain guides.
More than 50 Indonesians dead
in April from bootleg liquor
By Ali Kotarumalos
The Associated Press
AKARTA, Indonesia — More than 50 people have
died within about a week after drinking bootleg
liquor in western Indonesia, including in the
capital, Jakarta, officials said.
In a recent incident, 20 people died in Cicalengka
subdistrict near the West Java capital of Bandung.
Head of the state-run hospital in Cicalengka, Yani
Sumpena, said 19 people died at the hospital and one was
dead on arrival.
In total, some 40 people were admitted with symptoms
such as nausea, vomiting, shortness of breath, and
unconsciousness, and several were still receiving
treatment, Sumpena said.
In Bandung itself, police chief Hendro Pandowo said
three people died after being admitted to hospitals the day
before suffering the symptoms of alcohol poisoning.
High taxes on alcohol have spawned a black market for
booze among the poor in Indonesia, the world’s most
populous Muslim nation, where drinking alcohol is
frowned upon but not illegal under civil law. Potentially
lethal methanol can be a byproduct of bootleg distilling
and the tainted alcohol is also sometimes mixed with soft
drinks. In February 2016, about 30 people died in the
central Java city of Yogyakarta after drinking bootleg
alcohol.
The deaths since the beginning of April total 54. There
were six deaths from drinking compromised liquor in the
easternmost region of Papua in late March.
Media reports said police had closed four liquor stores in
the Cicalengka region and confiscated dozens of jerry cans
containing palm wines and hundreds of bottles of various
types of liquor.
Jakarta police spokesman Argo Yuwono said 31 people
have died in Jakarta and its satellite cities of Depok and
Bekasi from alcohol poisoning in separate incidents since
the beginning of the month.
Police have arrested at least four suspects in the
Jakarta area who are accused of selling tainted liquor.
J
POLLUTION SOLUTION. Foreign tourists sunbathe at a beach on Boracay island in central
Aklan province, the Philippines. Philippine officials say the president has approved the closure of
Boracay, the country’s most famous beach resort, for up to six months after he said it has turned
into a “cesspool.” (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
in forests and protected wetlands affected by Boracay’s temporary
closure.
over the years, officials said.
Only about 47 percent of the
About 17,000 are employed in
hundreds of establishments are Boracay’s tourist establishments,
connected to the island’s main sewer and 10,000 to 12,000 others benefit
treatment plant, with many of the from the bustling tourism business.
rest possibly maintaining crude
A similar decision was made in
septic tanks and others discharging Thailand where Maya Bay, on Phi
their waste directly into the sea, Phi Leh island in the Andaman Sea,
will be closed for four months starting
Alegre said.
Parts of the 2,471-acre island in in June.
Many Thai marine parks close for
central Aklan province could reopen
earlier than six months if sewage part of the year, but the release of the
containment and treatment systems Leonardo DiCaprio movie The Beach
could be built earlier and beach in 2000 made picturesque Maya Bay
resorts comply with environmental so popular it stayed open year-round.
It averages 200 boats and 4,000
regulations, he said.
Philippine Airlines said it would visitors daily, but recent surveys
reduce flights en route to airports found the area’s coral reefs and sea
serving as a gateway to the small life damaged or gone.
Other Thai destinations ruined by
island, about 196 miles south of
mass tourism, Koh Yoong in the Phi
Manila.
Deputy
executive
secretary Phi island chain and Koh Tachai in
Menardo Guevarra said emergency the Similan Islands National Park,
calamity funds would be used to help have been off-limits to tourists
workers at tourist establishments permanently since mid-2016.
Facebook faces Indonesia investigation over privacy breach
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — The Indonesian
government said it is investigating Facebook over the
privacy breach of its Indonesian users.
The Ministry of Communications and Information
Technology said in a statement that it had asked the
National Police chief to investigate possible violations of
Indonesia’s privacy law a day after Facebook announced
that the personal data of more than 1 million Indonesians
might have been exposed by political consultant
Cambridge Analytica.
It said Facebook representatives in Indonesia could face
up to 12 years in prison and a fine of $871,000, if convicted.
The ministry summoned the representatives to deliver
a warning letter.
Communications minister Rudiantara told reporters
after the meeting that he asked Facebook to stop its
applications that could allow third parties to get users’
personal information.
“We ask Facebook to provide us their audit results to see
how the personal information is used by the Cambridge
Analytica,” said Rudiantara, who like many Indonesians
uses a single name.
Facebook Indonesia head of public policy Ruben Hattari
said they will keep cooperating with the Indonesian
government.
“Our main goal is to secure privacy data of all Facebook
users,” Hattari said after the meeting.
Indonesia is the world’s fourth-largest Facebook user
with more than 115 million active members. Nearly 97
percent of users are on mobile devices.
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