TWO years after the closure of Boracay Island, many establishments continue to be noncompliant with easement regulations promulgated by the government.
This was revealed as President Duterte extended the life of the Boracay Inter-Agency Task Force (BIATF) for another year, or until May 8, 2021, through Executive Order (EO) 115, signed by Executive Secretary Salvador C. Medialdea on May 11, 2020, for the President. Duterte’s signature was also on the margin of the last page of the document.
On April 26, 2018, the crown jewel of Philippine tourism was closed for six months ostensibly to allow government to rehabilitate the island, world famous for its fine white-sand beach. The BIATF, created through EO 53 in 2018, was supposed to have been dissolved on May 8, 2020.
According to EO 115, “a state of calamity continues to be in full force and effect in the barangays of Balabag, Manoc-Manoc and Yapak [Boracay Island],” in Malay, Aklan.
It added, as of March 31, 2020, as validated by the Task Force, 33 percent of establishments on Boracay Island are not yet compliant with the 25 meters plus 5 meters beach easement.
Also, the Task Force found that “27 percent of establishments have not complied with the road easement,” as prescribed by law.
According to the EO, “despite the demolition of 111 structures on wetlands, 227 structures on the beach easement and 896 on the road easement since the inception of the Task Force in 2018, there are still 723 structures built on forestland blocks, 112 on the beach easement, and 334 on the road easement.”
The rehabilitation of the wetlands, forestlands and implementation of the easement regulations has been the primary task of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, whose head, Secretary Roy A. Cimatu, chairs the BIATF. The heads of the Department of the Interior and Local Government, and Department of Tourism, are his co-chairs.
DILG primarily oversees the issuance of business permits and licensing aspects of commercial establishments on the island, while the DOT oversees the accreditation of the resorts, as well as the completion of the island’s drainage facilities through its infrastructure arm, the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority.
The DOT also monitors the arrivals and departures of tourists on the island to ensure that its carrying capacity is not exceeded. As per a DENR study, the island can only accommodate 17,125 tourists at any given time, per day.
The same study published in 2018 also found that Boracay had exceeded its physical carrying capacity by 109.95 hectares (has) for residences, 194.90 has for hotels and resorts, and 16.95 has for other business establishments. Its total population carrying capacity was similarly breached by 15,736 persons per day.
As per EO 115, there is still “a need to complete critical projects in Boracay Island pursuant to the Boracay Action Plan, such as but not limited to the improvement of the water drainage system, demolition of remaining establishments situated in forest land and wetland areas, enforcement of beach and road easements, as well as the rehabilitation of the Boracay Circumferential Road, and extend the life of the Task Force, so it may ensure implementation of carrying capacity regulations, and continue to carry out its mandate under EO 53.”
The rehabilitation of the island’s circumferential road is the responsibility of the Department of Public Works and Highways.
Boracay residents and businesses have barely recovered from the six-month closure of the island in 2018, but now faces even greater challenges with the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19). Although the island continues to be Covid-free, its tourism industry has been greatly affected by travel restrictions of its key markets abroad.
Image credits: Tangducminh | Dreamstime.com
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