2018 Boracay closure and redevelopment for media coverage. On April 4, 2018, the Philippine government announced that Boracay would be closed for up to six months starting on April 26. Checkpoints manned by police officers and soldiers would be set up at piers in Boracay to turn away visitors from the island. Passes would be given to local residents. On the day of the closure, President Rodrigo Duterte declared a state of calamity over the three barangays of Boracay. The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has distributed relief goods to residents of Boracay while the island is closed to tourists. In June 2018,
Boracay combined with poorly monitored snorkeling activity in coral rich areas. The Boracay Foundation Inc. (BFI) made efforts to remedy the situation by launching a "reefurbishment" program for the corals. In 2017, the BFI claimed the number of corals in Boracay increased from 15 to 20 percent since 2015 due to its project. Boracay has been experiencing an increased coliform bacteria population since the 1990s which contributed to a 60 percent decline in tourist arrivals in 1997. Although a potable water supply system, a solid waste disposal system, as well as a sewage treatment plant which began operation in 2003 were