SEN. Panfilo Lacson, in a town hall forum at the Aklan Provincial capitol, cautioned against rushing plans to convert tourist haven Boracay Island into a government-owned and -controlled corporation (GOCC) and called for a wider stakeholder consultations involving long-time local residents.
The senator stressed the need for holding “careful stakeholder consultations” before Congress vote to endorse final passage of an enabling law creating the proposed Boracay Island Development Authority (BIDA).
“Turning the tourist-haven island of Boracay into a government-owned and -controlled corporation must be a collective decision not only by public officials involved, but the local residents who would be affected more importantly,” he pointed out.
The senator conveyed his concerns during a town hall forum Tuesday at the Aklan Provincial Capitol when asked to comment on House Bill 9286 providing for the creation of BIDA, which lawmakers from the House of Representatives already approved.
Lacson assured affected stakeholders that “whatever it takes to improve our opportunities for tourism, I’ll go for it.” He added, however, that “as I said, we don’t have to do it somewhat indiscriminately or in a whimsical manner. We need to carefully study the matter and with full consultation with the people surrounding the area.”
Appearing before the Kapisanan ng Brodkaster sa Pilipinas’ (KBP) “Panata sa Bayan” presidential forum last February, Lacson indicated support for the BIDA bill.
Upholding his position during a recent visit to Kalibo, Aklan believing BIDA to be “a good concept,” the senator reminded, however, that while he is “generally affirmative of the proposed legislation, any executive action that would be made under his leadership about it must be backed by science and data-driven with due respect to environmental concerns.
He suggested that “it should be based on science; meaning, is this going to be harmful to the environment, or affect climate change, and so forth and so on; and most of all, how would it help the people affected? If the people don’t want it, then we should respect the will of the majority. That is my position.”
In a trip to Western Visayas early this week, Lacson, likewise, raised anew his proposal to develop tourism estates in the most beautiful destinations across the country, this time including the picturesque islands of Gigantes in Iloilo and Boracay in Aklan.
The senator suggested that Ilonggos and Aklanons take the cue from his “tourism development plan” that is tied to his flagship Budget Reform Advocacy for Village Empowerment (BRAVE) program where local officials would be authorized to implement various projects for their communities to spur economic growth.
“What we need is a tourism estate in many areas,” Lacson said, recalling for instance his visit to Estancia in Iloilo, noting that “they also have an island, the Gigantes Island. It’s so beautiful because they have a lake at the top of the mountain. It could be turned into a tourism area, but we lack government support.”
Lacson explained that through BRAVE, local government units (LGU)—from the provincial down to the barangay levels—would be allocated development funding on top of their national tax allotment to boost different industries in their localities, which could include tourism.
The senator envisions that “if it would be developed—at least through the barangay chairman with the help of the municipal government—if the Gigantes [Island] would be developed, you can just imagine the revenues, what you would earn out of the tourism activities in Gigantes.”
Affirming his resolve to implement his BRAVE policy, Lacson added: “We could help each other out because what I can tell you is that once I make a promise, I really do it. I don’t make a promise only to break it in the long run or for it to just stay as a mere promise.”