Whether you’re going to Boracay by automobile or four-wheel drive, keep in mind it’s white because the island has a white-car only policy.

Reph Bangsil, a motoring enthusiast, pointed this out to ANCX recently during an inter-island media familiarization tour conducted by Philippine Airlines and the Tourism Promotions Board. Boracay, one of the world’s most famous beach locations, was our first visit.

Actually, Reph blogged about the white car rule on TikTok late last year, when he had the opportunity to travel from Manila to Boracay and learned the strange policy for himself.

In the video, he showed a variety of white four-wheeled automobiles parked on the island. Except, of course, for a firetruck, which is naturally painted red.

The decision is written down. Clicking on this malay.gov.ph link will take you to Municipal Ordinance No. 142-2001, which governs the entrance and operation of motorized vehicles on the island. It was signed on October 2, 2001, and states in Section 2, Rules and Regulations that “all four or more wheeled vehicles should be painted white.” However, the ordinance makes no mention of the cause for the regulation. So we asked Cesar Oczon Jr., Senior Transportation Regulation Officer for the municipality of Malay, Aklan, whether he knew why white automobiles were preferred.

because the LGU desired that the cars on the island have a clean, consistent appearance, using a hue similar to that of the beach’s world-famous sand

Many people in Boracay, including restaurateur Nowie Potentiano (Sunny Side Cafe, Spicebird), who has lived on the island for 17 years, are unaware of this 21-year-old rule because they mostly travel by foot or tricycle (which can freely roam around wearing any color), and very few people bring their cars to the island anyway.