By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo / Special to the BusinessMirror
OWNERS, managers, and sales executives of some 30 resorts on Boracay Island asked for clarity regarding President Duterte’s pronouncements about putting the number one tourist destination in the country under agrarian reform.
The Boracay stakeholders also spoke up on the various issues confounding their establishments, such as the lack of a clear rehabilitation program by the government, during a two-hour meeting with Tourism Secretary Bernadette Fatima Romulo Puyat, and other key officials of the Department of Tourism (DOT) on Monday, at the NAC Tower in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig.
In an interview with the BusinessMirror, Mia Mancio, one of the lead convenors of the #OneBoracay group, said the stakeholders asked Romulo Puyat, “what is really the rehabilitation for, if the island will just be put under agrarian reform? Why are the roads being widened, and the drainages being built? Is this for the farmers?”
#OneBoracay is a loose aggrupation of hotels and resorts, travel agencies, and tourism associations in and off-island airing the concerns of Boracay stakeholders.
President Duterte ordered the closure of the Philippines’ top tourism draw for six months starting April 26, saying it was meant to give way to the government’s rehabilitation effort – to address environmental pollution, drainage issues, traffic on the main road, and easement violations.
Of late, however, Duterte has been saying that he would put the island under agrarian reform and distribute land to the Ati natives and other poor residents.
Mancio added, the stakeholders also asked for a concrete timetable on the reopening of the island. “What is the plan for Boracay? How do we verify that the projects are being implemented and ongoing? For instance, many of the resorts there have self-demolished their establishments to give way for the road-widening project. But no [government] work is being done.”
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), which chairs the inter-agency task force on Boracay, is widening the main road by 12 meters as part of the government easement regulations, and relieve the island of traffic jams.
Romulo Puyat, in a separate interview, said, “I felt I needed to hear their side because they are our stakeholders.” She added she would be attending the next Task Force Boracay meeting to raise the issues of the stakeholders. “Their concerns are valid,” she stressed.
The DOT Secretary suggested the stakeholders form an “interim task force,” composed of representatives from each industry on Boracay, who can bring their concerns directly to the tourism agency.
This was the first time the DOT deliberately held a widespread consultation with Boracay stakeholders. Before the island was closed, DOT officials met only with pockets of stakeholders, and usually for just short periods of time. A large meeting with stakeholders took place on April 17, only a week before the actual closure of Boracay. During said meeting, a number of government agencies laid out their work plans during the closure, although tourism stakeholders came away from the event confused and unconvinced with the rehab program. (See, “DILG proposes goals for ‘soft opening’ Boracay by August,” in the BusinessMirror, April 17, 2018.)
Those who attended the meeting with Romulo Puyat included owners or representatives of five-star resorts on the island like Discovery Shores Boracay, Shangri-La’s Boracay Resort and Spa, the Henann Group, along with small- and medium-scale hotels and resorts.
Some resort representatives also raised the point that if Boracay is reopened, and its management just goes back to the local government units (LGU), “nothing will change; [the island] will just go back to the way it was.” One source stressed, “We need people in the LGU who will be passionate about the island, and not someone who can be bought.”
The Department of Interior and Local Government is currently preparing charges against LGU officials said to be responsible for the mismanagement of Boracay, resulting in overbuilding, establishments being built without the necessary government permits, rampant easement violations, and environmental stresses.
Shangri-La Boracay’s representative was said to have asked for an earlier notice of when the island would be reopened because “it’s difficult to market it,” sources said. “Businesses need to plan around a schedule. Hiring and getting the market takes time; hotels need 3-6 months to generate bookings,” the sources said.
Djila Winebrenner, owner of the Lazy Dog Bed and Breakfast, said she personally raised the issue of “the lack of a plan and more importantly, the absence of official communication other than receiving conflicting updates through the media.”
Her resort was one of those earlier tagged by DENR for not being connected to the main sewer line despite having presented a certification from the Boracay Island Water Co. (BIWC) that the resort was connected. BIWC is the main water and sewerage company on the island. (See, “Sewer-line ‘violators’ chide DENR for releasing ‘faulty’ list,” in the BusinessMirror, April 30, 2018.)
Winebrenner described the meeting with Romulo Puyat as having gone “very well. She was simply interested in hearing what the private stakeholders had to say, which was the first time anyone in government seemed interested. I’d say all who attended were happy about the meeting.”
Other sources who attended the meeting, said Henry Chusuey, chairman of the Boracay Foundation Inc., and owner of the Henann Group of Resorts, “defended the pipes running through his property as a tool used to collect rainwater and not to dump waste into the beach. He also said Boracay should have been closed in phases.” The DENR earlier named Henann Garden and Henann Palm resorts as having violated wastewater regulations.
Image credits: Contributed photo