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ABOUT

This is a personal blog of Gil delos Santos, a Boracay-based advocate, entrepreneur, tourism professional, and community leader with a deep commitment to sustainable development and local empowerment. With years of hands-on experience in the island’s tourism and business sectors plus two decades of professional hospitality experience abroad, Gil has dedicated efforts to uplift local voices and championing homegrown enterprises. 

He is the founder of the Small Players Association of Boracay (SPAB), a pioneering initiative that brought together the island’s Micro, Small, and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) into a unified organization. Under his leadership, SPAB has become a vital platform for collaboration, resilience, and innovation among Boracay’s independent business owners.

Driven by passion for culture, community, and Filipino food heritage, Gil is a pioneer Slow Food Boracay Community member who founded GMarket, showcasing the flavors and craftsmanship of local producers. Whether through advocacy work, entrepreneurship, or grassroots organizing, his mission remains the same: to help build a more inclusive, community-led Boracay.

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Understanding Low Foreign Arrival

By Gil delos Santos While the western world now combats against over tourism, the Philippines in other hand struggles to get a good share on foreign arrivals: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1Q44TeFswV/ The latest Seasia stats report placed the Philippines at the bottom with 3m arrivals from January to August 2025 versus the top: Malaysia and Thailand with over 20m respectively, Vietnam with 13m.  Pre-pandemic (in 2019), Thailand records 30m+, Vietnam 18m, The Philippines with 8m. It has always been a struggle for the Philippines. But 2025 is looking the worst so far.  We always read reports on statistics but we don't often see the reasons why we're behind—except for the usual complains how bad our Department of Tourism is being run. I have followed the tourist arrival stats and trends in the past years. I research and collect tourist impressions over time. Here's what I found out: FACTORS AFFECTING LOW FOREIGN ARRIVAL 1) 𝗚𝗲𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗜𝘀𝗼𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶...
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WALKING THE IGBARAS CIRCUIT FOR 3-DAYS + 1

By Gil delos Santos IGBARAS is a third class municipality in the South-western part of Iloilo province known to be one of the hiker's favorite destinations as they are blessed with waterfalls, caves, climbing rocks, beautiful mountain ridges which the popular Mount Napulak belongs to, and locals with notable genuine hospitality. We initiated the hike from Barangay Igcabugao which we had to pass through a community of mountain residents as we ascend to our first Mountain, Napulak. I had absorbed a good load of happy innocent vibe connecting to the children before starting the proper mountain journey. These kids have physically grown from the time I last saw them in my previous visits. At the same time, the reconnection naturally streamed down and effortlessly grown too. That's a good "pabaon" - their innocent smiles and timid but genuine thank you for the little present I have for them. Getting to Mount Napulak once again is a mix of happy and little concer...
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Local's Perspective on The Proposed Boracay Bridge

By: Gil delos Santos WHAT HOPE IS LEFT FOR BORACAY? Boracay is its people. Boracay is its community. Boracay is its natural treasures. It's dark how the future of sustainability and community for Boracay look like. Let's be part of the light for hope.  THEN As a kid born and raised in Manocmanoc, the Manocmanoc Beach was our everyday playground. Great memories! The sense of ownership that we have for our playgrounds gives us the privilege of entitlement that we feel it is our home. It was a pride each time to warmly welcome visitors to share our space with them. NOW We feel strangers to our old playgrounds. We cannot access them anymore 40 years later. We have not imagined that it wasn't owned by the community. The provincial government installed a cargo port in the Western side of Manocmanoc Beach preventing the natural sand movements and we lost the sandbar that is being formed every habagat season — which we used to call "Recudo". Recudo is gone forever!!  We a...
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