THE recommendation of not totally closing down the entire Boracay Island but only erring establishments there, is a consensus among senators, said Senator Cynthia Villar, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Environment and Natural Resources.
“We reached a consensus that it is really not fair to close all the establishments in the area, but only those who violated the rules or did not comply with the law. They should be penalized and the compliant ones rewarded,” stressed Villar.
Villar’s committee, jointly with the Senate committees on Tourism and Local Government, conducted a public hearing in Boracay on March 2 to discuss the environmental woes plaguing the island.
Prior to the hearing, Villar also went around Boracay and inspected the establishments and facilities.
She added it was also the clamor of the people in Boracay who were afraid all of them would lose their sources of income or livelihood.
The senators were greeted by banners and posters requesting them to save the island and not close it down.
“We do not want our fellow Filipinos there to suffer unnecessarily by losing their livelihood. In any situation, we always try to come up with a solution that will minimize inconvenience and lessen adverse repercussions,” Villar said.
The senator said the fact that her family owned a property in Boracay did not in any way affect her role in the Senate inquiry into Boracay, as some had maliciously insinuated.
Vista Land & Lifescapes Inc. bought 50-room boutique hotel Boracay Sands in Station 3 in 2016.
According to Villar, “It was never a secret that we have a property in Boracay, even my fellow senators know about it. Being an elected official, I am not part of the management of our business. I also think that the closure or non-closure of Boracay will not really affect Vista Land, which has projects in over 136 towns and cities in the Philippines.”
She added she was more concerned about the state of the wetlands in the island than her family’s business.
Five out of nine wetlands in Boracay are already damaged because they were occupied by a mall, hotel and illegal settlers.
“Wetlands play an important role in our environment. They are a natural flood deterrent and protection from storm surges. I have been a staunch advocate or wetland protection and conservation. The wetlands in Boracay have to be restored and preserved,” she said.
The senator said the Senate would still conduct hearings and she would file a bill seeking the creation of a Boracay Authority to oversee the island’s development.