By VANNE ELAINE P. TERRAZOLA
MALAY, Aklan – Senator Cynthia Villar is not keen on supporting the proposed shutdown of all business operations in Boracay Island which was seen as a solution to allow the immediate rehabilitation of the tourist spot.
Villar, in an interview ahead of the Senate hearing on the ecological degradation of Boracay Friday, said she is okay with the closing down of businesses that are violating environmental and building laws, but not those that are compliant.
“Okay lang isara ‘yong mga hindi compliant. ‘Yong mga compliant bakit mo naman parurusahan, hindi ba? Parang ang gusto ko, ‘yong mga hindi compliant, iyon lang ang isara,” Villar told reporters.
Tourism Secretary Wanda Teo and Department of the Interior and Local Government officer-in-charge (OIC) Eduardo Año earlier proposed a 60-day “total shutdown” of the Boracay Island to allow the government to work on rehabilitating the island.
Villar chairs the Senate committee on environment and natural resources which leads the inquiry, in aid of legislation, on the reported degradation of Boracay, which is famous for its white sand beaches.
Prior to the hearing, Villar conducted an ocular inspection to see for herself the extent of the supposed environment mess.
She first visited a resort which is among those ordered demolished for violating the Presidential Proclamation No. 1064, which prohibits hotels and resorts from building establishments with in the 30-meter easement from the shorelines of Boracay.
Department of Environment and Natural Resources Region 6 (DENR-6) director Jim Sampluna said they also found that the resort failed to secure an environment compliance certificate (ECC) from the agency.
An official of the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA) was also scolded by Villar over the “complicated” system of drainage and sewerage system in the island. The senator learned that businesses were allowed to connect their sewer pipe into drainages, which was only supposed to process rainwater.
Villar told TIEZA general manager Pocholo Paragas to designate specific areas for the two water utility companies operating in the island, such as what is being implemented in Metro Manila.
The senator also found that local residents have built houses over wetlands, which she said, should be free flowing for the treated wastewater. Local officials look into demolishing the houses and relocating residents.
She also visited a material recovery facility in Barangay Manoc-manoc which serves as a holding area for garbage before transfer to Aklan mainland.