‘Cesspool’: Philippines to close tourist island of Boracay

President Rodrigo Duterte has approved the six-month closure of the popular holiday destination he says tourists turned into a ‘cesspool’.

The livelihoods of thousands of workers on the Philippines holiday island of Boracay could be in jeopardy after President Rodrigo Duterte ordered it closed for six months.

Duterte says tourists have turned the place into a “cesspool“.

But many say that is an overreaction and cruel to those who depend on the island for their jobs.

Al Jazeera’s Jamela Alindogan reports from Boracay.