PCCI-Aklan wants review of cancellation of flights

The local chapter of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI-Aklan) urges government, especially the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, to review the cancellation of several plane flights at the Kalibo International Airport (KIA).

PCCI-Aklan Secretary-General Guidon de la Cruz said several flights to and from Metro Manila and Cebu have been canceled after nearby Boracay Island was ordered closed for six months starting on April 26.

The closure also saw airline companies doubling ticket prices bound for the KIA.

“Because of this, businessmen, students and balikbayans have to travel to other nearby airports, such as the Caticlan Airport and the Roxas City Airport, to go to Manila. Direct flights to Cebu have also been canceled,” de la Cruz said.

“The reduction of commercial flights at the KIA created economic difficulties for both passengers and cargo traffic,” he added. Meanwhile, the roll-on, roll-off service from Caticlan to Batangas port is also full, brought about by summer travel and strong basic trade between Luzon and the Visayas region, he added.

The PCCI-Aklan board has filed a resolution to engage airline firms in consultation, thereby encouraging them to provide additional flight for Manila-Kalibo and restore the Kalibo-Cebu route even on limited basis.

“The reduction of plane flights also does not help promote local tourism, trade and commerce, which are supposed to be increasing due to expansion of e-commerce, resulting into convenience in the movement of people and goods across our islands,” de la Cruz further said.

Most business groups in Western Visayas support wage-hike proposal

Most business groups under the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) back the proposal for a wage increase of employees in Western Visayas.

All the provincial chapters in the region have collectively sent manifestation of support of a proposed wage hike. Only PCCI’s Iloilo chapter registered opposition.

The PCCI members in the region said they support the proposal lodged by the Philippine Agricultural, Commercial, and Industrial Workers Union-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (Paciwu-TUCP) on January 22. Paciwu-TUCP’s petition remained with the office of Regional Tripartite Wage and Productivity Board in Region 6 for nearly four months now.

The petition urges businesses to adopt an additional P130 to P150 daily minimum-wage increase on top of the current P271.50 and P323.50, depending on the industry and the number of workers employed. The petition cites the reduction of the purchasing power of workers with the increases in prices of oil and basic commodities.

The last minimum-wage order in the region took effect on March 16, 2017.

Frank A. Carbon, former PCCI regional governor and currently CEO of the Metro Bacolod Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said his group, the PCCI chapters of Aklan and Boracay are for increasing wages.

Carbon said despite the closure of Boracay for six months, “business groups in the province did not surrender and instead worked harder.”

“Many businesses in Boracay also didn’t close their stores,” he added. “They [continue to] keep [their businesses] open. I don’t have an explanation now for this unselfish and selfless actions but I believe this is the right thing to do at the moment.”

Likewise, PCCI-Aklan President Ramel  V. Buncalan said the board has issued a position paper supporting the proposed wage increase.

“As early as March when the announcement of the then impending ‘Boracay closure’ was abruptly announced without due consultation and planning, businesses in the island and mainland Aklan had already felt the reduced confidence in doing business in the province,” part of the position paper states.

“But despite these challenges, businesses have implemented intermediary mechanisms to maintain their work force until losses would have been recovered in the anticipated opening of a ‘better’ Boracay Island,” it added.

West Cove Resort demolition halted after owner uses letter from Palace

The owner of Boracay Island West Cove Management Inc. has received a respite from the demolition of his business after receiving a letter from Malacañang.

Hotel owner Crisostomo Aquino said it was only recently that he received the order to stop the demolition from the Office of the Deputy Executive Secretary for Legal Affairs.

In a two-page letter dated March 23, Acting Deputy Executive Secretary for Legal Affairs of the Office of the President Ryan Alvin R. Acosta said, however, they have yet to decide on Aquino’s appeal.

It could be recalled that several years ago the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has canceled the Forest Land Use for Tourism Purposes, called FlagT, of the said resort for alleged environmental violations. The management has appealed to the Malacañang.

In March Environment Secretary Roy A. Cimatu asked Aquino to voluntarily demolish part of the resort to which the latter acquiesced.

But Aquino said the demolition order was more a political than an environmental cause. He also questioned the authority of the local government to close and demolish his resort while he cited a pending appeal to Malacañang.

“If ever Malacañang will render a decision [that ] would be against us, we still [have] an option to go to the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court,” Aquino said.

For his part, Livino Duran, assistant regional director of the DENR-Western Visayas said that the local government of Malay has jurisdiction over Malacañang’s order.

Malay waste-to-energy plant being fast-tracked

A waste-to-energy plant is expected to rise soon in the mainland of Malay, Aklan, and which many hopes would solve the increasing problems on waste not only in this resort island but also in the province of Aklan.

Malay Councilor Floribar Bautista, chairman of the  public works committee, said negotiations with the El Elyon-Orion Renewable Solutions Corp., a Vietnam-based company, are being fast-tracked.

The said company has been consistent with its proposal for several years already. It is, however, yet to be accommodated by the local government because of technicalities in the paper works.

“The council is now bent on giving authority to the local chief executive to enter into contracts with the said company. I hope the proceeding will be smooth,” Bautista said.

The company will be utilizing the 6-hectare lot in Barangay Kabulihan, he added.

“Under the proposed agreement, the El Elyon Orion will build and operate the plant free of charge to the local government. The counterpart of the local government, however, is the commitment of the 6  hectare availability,” Bautista explained.

It was learned that once operated, the power plant is also open to idea to accept wastes from the other 16 towns of Aklan.

For her part, El Elyon-Orion CEO Rossa Borres said the proposed project has already secured approval from the government.

“Our waste technology is of heterogeneous type, wherein it will utilized all kinds of wastes to be converted into energy,” Borres said during a meeting with the local council here.

The local government of Malay is expecting a demand of 50 megawatts  to 60 MW of electricity in ten years.

Trade dept puts resort-island under automatic price ceiling

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has placed Boracay under the Automatic Price Ceiling (APC) state.

Maria Carmen I. Iturralde, DTI-Aklan acting chief, said the APC is implemented once an area has been declared under the state of calamity.

It could be recalled that Malacañang recently declared the three barangays of Boracay—Balabag, Yapak and Manoc Manoc—under a state of calamity to give way to the rehabilitation of this resort island for six months.

“The APC means that businessmen selling basic commodities in this resort island must implement a price freeze,” Iturralde said. “They are not allowed to increase their prices on basic goods.”

She said DTI-Aklan received the communication from the DTI Central Office in Manila last Friday. Upon receiving it, DTI personnel would start distributing the fliers to all the stores in Boracay. The government agency will then conduct strict monitoring of price commodities this week, she said adding that violators will be penalized.

Meanwhile, aside from strict monitoring of price increase, the DTI is also conducting free training for entrepreneurs affected by the closure of Boracay. Iturralde said they offer training on t-shirt printing, siomai making, crafts making and waste recycling among others.

New Caticlan Jetty Port rules readied for Boracay reopening

The Caticlan Jetty Port administration is readying a set of new guidelines for the reopening of this resort island in the last quarter of this year.

Caticlan Jetty Port Administrator Niven M. Maquirang said a draft of the guidelines is being prepared and would be subjected to deliberation and approval by the Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Aklan and the Malay council.

The draft guidelines would also be forwarded to the Department of Tourism for comments.

The jetty port serves as the major gateway for tourists coming to and from Boracay. This world-class beach destination was closed to tourists for six months beginning on April 26.

“Said draft includes [a rule that] every tourist going to Boracay must present first their hotel bookings before [they are allowed] passage to the jetty port,” Maquirang said. “Hotels may also put up booths at the jetty port to cater to walk-in tourists.”

The jetty port also plans to put up a one-stop shop for companies hiring new workers once Boracay is opened again for tourists.

Maquirang, special operations officer IV jetty port administrator-Designate, said job interviews and hiring of applicants should also be done at the jetty port in cooperation with the Provincial Employment Service Office. “Once the applicant has been hired, he [or she] will be given a contract,” he explained. “The contract will then serve [as] a gate pass for workers to board a boat for Boracay.”

The one-stop shop aims to control the flow of people coming to and from Boracay, Maquirang added.

DSWD readies cash-for-work program for Boracay workers

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in Western Visayas will start soon the cash-for-work program for thousands of Boracay residents, workers and the Aetas.

Rebecca P. Geamala, DSWD regional director for Western Visayas, said she has already asked the central office for an initial P524-million funding for the cash-for-work program.

Prior to the program, the DSWD-WV has also implemented the “Balik Probinsiya” (back to the province) program that Geamala said has benefited around 2,251 workers. Currently, the said program continues alongside the assessment to ensure nonduplication of beneficiaries.

The DSWD spent P5 million for the 2,251 workers.

“The DSWD has enough funds for the entire closure of Boracay. That is guaranteed,” she said. “For the cash-for-work program, each family may be provided with a fee below P10,000 per month, enough to sustain their living.”

The program entails assisting in the rehabilitation of work in this resort island, including cleaning.

Some of the workers came from as far as Manila and the DSWD have paid for their plane tickets going home. The DSWD is also planning to implement a sustainable livelihood program.

NGO alert

MEANWHILE, Terry L. Ridon, a lawyer and former urban poor chief of Duterte, seeks to ensure government assistance to displaced families during the demolition of structures.

“As the President stands firm on the rehabilitation of Boracay, the government should ensure that housing assistance is provided to all ISFs [informal settler families] covered by demolition orders,” Ridon, currently convener of InfrawatchPH, was quoted in a statement issued on May 2.

Ridon said “no demolition without relocation” is among the longstanding presidential policies of the President, which should correspondingly be implemented during the Boracay rehabilitation.

“While we appreciate the commitment of the [Task Force Boracay] that housing assistance will be provided to all affected ISFs, we have yet to see the engagement of relevant agencies into the matter, such as the National Housing Authority [NHA] and the Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor [PCUP],” said Ridon, former party-list representative of Kabataan.

He explained the NHA provides the housing assistance, while the PCUP ensures all protections and entitlements are afforded the affected families.

“Housing assistance should be given a share in the calamity fund that will be used for the Boracay rehabilitation,” he added.

Ridon said housing assistance can include resettlement areas within Boracay to house the island’s low-income communities.

“Many affected ISFs are informal or low-income workers doing various jobs in the island,” Ridon added. “It would be good to provide them housing within the island as they comprise the base of service economy of Boracay.”

Ridon said transitional shelters can be set up by the NHA during the rehabilitation months.

“The NHA has done a good job in the quality of transitional shelters in Marawi,” he added. “Perhaps, they can do the same for all the affected ISFs in Boracay.”

Some lessons learned from Boracay’s closure

The six-month closure of the world-renowned resort island Boracay that started on April 26 is considered by many as a bitter pill that would have a long impact and could set a new direction in tourism industry in this region and in the country.

Acs Aldaba, operations manager of the Boracay Island Water Corp. (BIWC), said the existing water-pollution problems that had led Malacañang to temporarily close Boracay have been the same as those it has been encountering in the past 10 years. The BIWC is the major supplier of water on the island, which has around six, 311 water and sewer connections.

President Duterte described the waters off Boracay as a “cesspool” which led him order its closure. “The lesson from this closure is that we have to respond to the needs of Boracay,” Aldaba said. “We also see a need to increase environmental awareness for sustainability among all sectors.”

BIWC, which has been supplying water to Boracay for several years now, said it has underestimated the water supply needs of the island.

It noted that the residents failed to differentiate drainage and waste water, thus the need for a massive information, education and awareness campaign.

“We see the Boracay situation similar to the case of a rape victim wherein she/he has been abused yet nobody is admitting the crime,” Aldaba noted.

Currently, the BIWC is working to complete a network of sewers and drainage until 2022.

“We see Boracay as the first island in the country with centralized drainage and sewer system,” she said. The Philippines archipelago has over 7,000 islands.

Malay Councilor Floribar Bautista, chairman of the municipal council committee on public works, said the local government has also learned its lesson. Boracay Island is under the geographical area of Malay, Aklan.

“We realized that there were several documents which [showed] the local government [was assigned] to do certain tasks but they were not done properly. The local government will surely do the work continuously for the environmental sustainability of Boracay once it reopens,” Bautista said.

Among the supposed tasks of the local government was to oversee the inspection of the drainage system of the island.

According to the national government, Boracay may be reopened after six months in order to enable it to recover from stresses from human and development activities.

Several hotels and restaurants on the island, although unprepared with the closure, have come up with different coping schemes.

Richel Ann Guarino, manager of the Philippine Business Bank (PBB), said the Yao Group of Cos. has not displaced any worker during the six-month period. Besides the PBB, the Yao Group also owns a resort in the area.

The PBB is open during the six-month duration.

Earlier, San Miguel Corp., which manages the Caticlan Airport, has expressed commitment to keep all its employees during the period.

At the same time, some hotels have decided to help their employees cope during the closure.

Based on a survey, the Paradise Garden has allowed its employees to make a loan with the hotel. The Willys Rock has also given each of its employees a modest amount as separation pay.

The G Executive Hotel is keeping its employees but they were asked to cook and sell food for the workers involved in the rehabilitation of the resort island.