Par 2: Government addresses major problems in Boracay

Despite the huge contribution that Boracay tourism flows into the national coffers, Malacañang has said the national government has no plans to directly manage the affairs of the resort island.

In a recent news conference in nearby Kalibo, Aklan, Presidential Spokesman Harry L. Roque Jr. said the Duterte administration is respecting the process the local government unit undertakes to address issues and concerns clutching the resort island.

“Despite the planned issuance of an EO [Executive Order] of Malacañang, it certainly will not interfere with the affairs of the local government unit,” Roque has said.

Malacañang may still issue the EO not earlier than March, as the next scheduled Cabinet meeting will be on February 25. That meeting will deliberate the content of the EO, persons familiar with the matter said.

Still, with or without the EO, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has said it expects difficulties in addressing complex issues of the resort island.

Already, managers of several large resorts here became upset on reports alleging their respective business is violating environmental laws.

Among the alleged violators included the Shangri-La Boracay Resort and Spa, Mövenpick Resort and Spa, Crown Regency Resort, Asya Premier Suites, Nami Private Villas, Alta Vista de Boracay and the Boracay West Cove Resort, among others. The list was reportedly drawn by the Boracay Island Water Corp., a member of the Ayala Group of Cos.

3Private treatment

ACCORDING to West Cove General Manager Ben Mobo, managers of the resorts mentioned “are talking to one another why our names have to be listed as probable violators.”

“In the first place, we did not receive any notice of violation. Second, we are wary of the plans that we are supposed to connect with the drainage system,” Mobo said. “But the problem is the drainage system [has not reached our network] yet. So how could we connect [with the drainage system]?”

The Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority announced that it would complete the construction of the drainage system in Boracay by the year 2020.

With the absence of the drainage system, each of the resort mentioned have their respective Sewage Treatment Plant (STP), which follows international standards, according to Mobo.

“What is difficult nowadays is that the submission of data as required by the government can be slow due to poor Internet [connection] and that government web sites are often down,” Mobo added. “We have to wait for few more days to see if government web sites are running again.”

2Increasing fees

TO finance the environmental project of the local government of Malay, which has jurisdiction over Boracay Island, the municipal council members are currently proposing to increase the environmental fee imposed on visitors.

Currently, the local government charges tourists coming in and out of Boracay P75 each. The local government of Malay plans to raise it to P100.

Aside from the environmental fee, tourists are also being charged for another P100 each for terminal fees.

Boracay Foundation Inc. President Nenette A. Graf said there is a need to increase fees as tourists coming in are also bringing with them environmental problems. Each tourist coming in contributes to the piling of garbage and human waste, said Graf, who also serves as chairman of the local council’s committee on environment.

Data from the Aklan Provincial Tourism Office showed that from January to October 2017, the island welcomed a total of 1,669,751 tourists. The resort island has seen an additional 203,005 arrivals compared to the previous year’s figure during the same period of 1,466,796.

The proposal to increase environmental fee has already gained support among several members of the local council, she added.

1Island discovery

BORACAY Island almost gained instant fortune and positive publicity when several European backpackers discovered this resort island in the 1970s.

According to local residents, Boracay came from the combination of the native words “Bora,” which means bubbles, and ‘Bocay,” which means white.

The popularity of the resort island heightened when German writer Jens Peter published a travel book, wherein he described Boracay as the most beautiful island in Asia.

Since then, tourism started to grow.

In the 1990s part of the beach of Boracay was reportedly infected by coliform. It was the first issue that raised national concern.

Businesses then was afraid that the tourism industry may be largely affected had it not been immediately prevented. Since then, Boracay stakeholders tried to manage the issues concerning the tourism industry of this resort island.

However, the local government failed to control the mushrooming of commercial establishments in Boracay. Other problems started popping one after the other, pitting the national government and private stakeholders against another on how these concerns should be addressed.

In 2008 a Supreme Court decision shocked many stakeholders: it placed Boracay as part of the public domain and that its private landowners could not get titles to their properties. The decision of the High Tribunal further added to the already-pile high problems of this resort island.

Aside from the drainage and congestion concerns, other threats Boracay face include the possible dislocation of the indigenous people due to unbridled land development, coral bleaching, land grabbing and the possible peace and order issues that would come with this, and lack of police enforcers.