Boracay patrolled by gun-wielding police as Philippines tourist 'paradise' shuts down

Members of the police SWAT team take part in a hostage taking drill, a day before the temporary closure of the holiday island Boracay, in the Philippines on April 25, 2018. Erik De Castro / Reuters

Tourists watch the sunset a day before the government implements the temporary closure of the country's most famous beach resort island of Boracay, in central Aklan province, Philippines, on Wednesday, April 25, 2018. Aaron Favila / AP Photo

Tourists and resident walk along the almost empty beachfront as the government implements the temporary closure of the country's most famous beach resort island of Boracay. Aaron Favila / AP Photo

Policemen collect trash at Bulabog beach in the holiday island of Boracay during the first day of a temporary closure for tourists, on April 26, 2018. Erik De Castro / Reuters

Filipino fire dancers perform for the last time a day before the government implements the temporary closure of the country's most famous beach. Aaron Favila / AP Photo

A lone jetski manoeuvres along the waters at the country's most famous beach resort island of Boracay. Aaron Favila / AP Photo

A sewage pipe is seen along Bulabog beach as residents transport garbage bags on a boat from a construction site on the Philippine island of Boracay on April 25, 2018. Noel Celis / AFP

Gina Galan, 45, collects plastic bottles on the Boracay dumpsite called "materials recovery facility (MRF)" in the Philippine island of Boracay on April 25, 2018. Noel Celis / AFP

Hotel workers who are cut-off from their jobs pose for a picture, a day before the temporary closure of the holiday island Boracay. Erik De Castro / Reuters

A tourist poses in front of a sand sculpture, a day before the temporary closure of the holiday island Boracay. Erik De Castro / Reuters

Policemen walk past tourists, one day before the temporary closure of the holiday island Boracay, in the Philippines on April 25, 2018. Erik De Castro / Reuters

Policemen conduct a mock hostage taking of a tourists during a drill, one day before the temporary closure of the holiday island Boracay, in the Philippines April 25, 2018. Erik De Castro / Reuters

A fire dancer performs in a near empty beach bar, hours before the shutdown of the holiday island Boracay, in the Philippines on April 25, 2018. Erik De Castro / Reuters

Filipinos clean surfboards outside their closed shop as the government implements the temporary closure of the country's most famous beach resort island of Boracay on Thursday, April 26, 2018. Aaron Favila / AP Photo

Young residents sit underneath drainage pipes as the government implements the temporary closure of the country's most famous beach resort island of Boracay on Thursday, April 26, 2018. Aaron Favila / AP Photo

Policemen collect seaweeds during a clean up drive along the beachfront as the government implements the temporary closure of the country's most famous beach resort island of Boracay, in central Aklan province, Philippines, Thursday, April 26, 2018. Boracay, famed for its white-sand beaches, closes for up to six months to recover from overcrowding and development. Aaron Favila / AP Photo

A policeman asks a tourist to leave the beach during the shutdown of the holiday island Boracay, in Philippines on April 26, 2018. Erik De Castro / Reuters

Resort workers who were cut-off from their jobs take a 'selfie' in Mount Luho viewpoint in the holiday island of Boracay, on April 26, 2018. Erik De Castro / Reuters

A resident walks his dog in an empty beach during the shutdown of the holiday island Boracay on April 26, 2018. Erik De Castro / Reuters

A top view of the holiday island of Boracay during the first day of a temporary closure for tourists. Erik De Castro / Reuters

Policemen collect trash in the waters off the beach at the holiday island of Boracay during the first day of a temporary closure for tourists. Erik De Castro / Reuters

Workers make a sand castle on the Philippine island of Boracay. Noel Celis / AFP

Tourists stand beside a sand castle on the Philippine island of Boracay on April 25, 2018. Noel Celis / AFP

Employees of Milky Maming working next to rental speedboats, jetskis and a parasailing boat on the Philippine island of Boracay on April 25, 2018. Noel Celis / AFP

A closed sign hangs on the window of a beachfront shop as the government implements the temporary closure of the country's most famous beach resort island of Boracay. Aaron Favila / AP Photo

An empty beachfront lies at the no swim zone as the government implements the temporary closure of the country's most famous beach resort island of Boracay. Aaron Favila / AP Photo

The Philippines closed its most famous holiday island to tourists on Thursday for a six-month clean-up, which the government has imposed with a muscular show of its security forces.

Coast guard boats were on patrol along Boracay's blue waters and assault-rifle wielding police were posted at entry points to the once-pristine island that has become tainted by heavy commercialisation and overdevelopment.

Regional police head Cesar Binag said the closure began after midnight, with tourists barred from boarding the ferry that is the main access on to the island.

"Boracay is officially closed to tourists. We are not closing establishments but tourists cannot enter. We are implementing the instruction of the president," Mr Binag said.

About 600 policemen were deployed, with some performing security drills including riot officers battling bottle-hurling protesters and mock hostage taking of sunbathers - all before startled locals.

"It looks like we are at war," Jessica Gabay, a grocery seller, said on Wednesday. "Maybe the authorities are doing this to instill fear so people will follow the rules."

The government conceded on Thursday there was no real threat, with interior ministry assistant secretary Epimaco Densing saying that the security presence was "just part of preparing for the worst".

President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the shutdown this month after calling the resort a "cesspool", dirtied by tourism-related businesses dumping raw sewage directly into the ocean.

During the closure only residents with ID cards are allowed to board ferries to the tiny island that is home to about 40,000 people.

On Thursday morning, police began patrolling the beach to enforce a rule prohibiting swimming except in one designated area.

Boats are barred from sailing within three kilometres of the shoreline and only Boracay residents are allowed to fish its waters.

The Philippines has pledged to use the closure to shore up the island's infrastructure, bulldoze illegal structures and clean up the mess left by years of unchecked growth.

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Resistance was light in the run-up to the closure, with no violent protests and most of the criticism focusing on the fate of roughly 30,000 people employed in the island's bustling tourist trade.

The workers were drawn by the relatively good wages on the island that has seen the number of visitors roughly quadruple to two million since 2006.

Those tourists, a growing number of whom are Chinese and Korean, pumped roughly $1 billion in revenue into the Philippine economy last year.

But its growth from a sleepy backpacker hideaway into a mass-tourism hub with fast food outlets on the beach has taken a toll.

Unchecked construction has eaten away at the island's natural beauty, while slimy algae-filled waves in some areas and mountains of discarded drink bottles are problems acknowledged even by critics of the shutdown.

"I'm all for rehabilitation and preserving it but clearly this is not the way to do it," Philippine politics expert Ashley Acedillo said.

He called the closure an "ill-thought through, unplanned and knee-jerk action" that did not take into account the economic impact on the island's workers and business community.