Smoking and Drinking on the Beach in Boracay: The Rules as Reported

The Inquirer reported in May 2017 that Malay had passed an ordinance, authored by Councilor Nenette Aguirre-Graf, against drinking alcohol in public places¹. As reported, it prohibits drinking within 5 meters of riverbanks, public parks and beach areas and 6 meters from road centers. Drinking is allowed inside beachfront hotels, bars and restaurants “not extending beyond the vegetation line”¹.

Penalties as reported in 2017: PHP 500 for a first offense, PHP 1,000 for a second, and PHP 2,500 or 30 days’ imprisonment for a third and later¹. The report said the ordinance would be enforced by the Malay Auxiliary Police and the Boracay Tourist Assistance Center¹. The report does not give the ordinance number.

In August 2018, ahead of the October reopening, ABS-CBN reported that smoking and drinking would be banned on White Beach and allowed in hotels and resorts, a statement attributed to the tourism secretary². The reopening guidelines described by the Inquirer in September 2018 did not mention alcohol but listed no smoking in public areas⁵.

In March 2024 a Boracay Foundation board member told ABS-CBN that restrictions had eased, with dusk-to-dawn beach parties “already allowed”, but that smoking and drinking on the beach “remain disallowed”⁶. That is one quoted business-association source and not an ordinance, but it is the most recent report in the sources used here.

Smoking in Boracay is covered by Malay’s anti-smoking ordinance. GMA News reported in April 2015 that it bans smoking in public utility vehicles, government vehicles, accommodation and entertainment establishments, public buildings and public places, and enclosed areas outside a private residence, with designated smoking areas for those who wish to smoke³. A Rappler roundup of the rules after reopening lists Municipal Ordinance No. 272 as the one covering smoking in public places⁴. Neither report says whether the two are the same ordinance.

Sources disagree GMA News reported in April 2015 fines of PHP 500 to 2,500 for a first offense, PHP 1,000 to 5,000 for a second and PHP 5,000 plus community service for a third³. Some travel blogs quote different, lower figures; none points to the ordinance text, and they are not used here. Plan around the 2015 news figures, the only ones tied to a dated news report.

After reopening, the BIATF guidelines reported by the Inquirer in September 2018 included “no smoking in public areas”⁵, and the tourism secretary’s August 2018 statement put the beach in the same category². The sources used here do not say whether the ordinance covers vaping, and none describes today’s designated smoking areas.

Enforcement is by the Malay Auxiliary Police, the separate Beach Guards, the Tourism Regulatory Enforcement Unit and the island police; the auxiliary police and the Beach Guards are separate bodies that both report to the mayor’s office⁸. By late April 2019 the unit’s chief said 739 Chinese, 277 Korean and 92 Filipino tourists had been apprehended since January for violating ordinances on smoking, littering and eating on the beach, and “were made to pay fines”; the amounts were not stated⁷.

Good to know In a 2024 episode about portable chairs on White Beach, enforcers could not cite the ordinance on request, and the newspaper called the rule a “grey area” because the ordinance does not say what kind of chair⁸. If an officer cites a rule, you can ask for the ordinance number; reports so far attribute the drinking rule to an unnumbered ordinance and the smoking rule to No. 272 or to the anti-smoking ordinance, so a number may not be quoted.

The environment department clarified on 21 October 2018 that parties and grilling remain allowed indoors or away from the beach, and that a circulating claim of a grilling ban was false⁹. Dining on White Beach itself is a separate prohibition under Municipal Ordinance No. 132, as Rappler reported in November 2018⁴. Beach parties, fire dances and other changes since 2018 are in Boracay Rules for Visitors.