By Johnny Dayang
IN recent weeks, there has been a slew of conjectures on what Boracay would become after the government ordered the island’s closure to tourists for six months. President Rodrigo Duterte earlier said Boracay has become a cesspool.
The speculations have become even more convoluted and confused given the knotty concerns that came with the closure, and the contradictory remarks issued by national government officials.
Initially, the various state agencies said the six-month lockdown was to ensure uninterrupted rehabilitation of the island from wanton degradation. Later, as the closure story moved about town, talks of high-rolling casinos being built in the island started to gain currency.
The news of sub-dividing the Boracay lands to local residents under the comprehensive agrarian reform program, has also made headlines, followed by reported plans of the Palace to declare the 1,032-hectare island in a state of calamity so funds could be released to assist displaced residents and employees.
The issue of agrarian rerform, moreover, has legal basis. Then President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo issued Presidential Proclamation No. 1064 on May 22, 2006, categorizing Boracay’s 628.96 hectares, around 60.94 percent of the island, as alienable and disposable, and the remainder as forestland and protected areas.
Curiously, the proclamation was made after a third of the island had been titled and a big part of it occupied by claimants who have been paying their tax declaration dues. Even worse, lands classified as wetlands, estuaries, and public lands have now been developed as residential and commercial areas.
In short, Boracay, which the Aetas have tilled as agricultural land in pre-colonial times, has no farms to speak of now.
For its part, the DENR has came out with a statement that under existing laws, it will take three decades before present claimants can own titles to the lands they developed. Reckoning from 2006, Boracay can only be declared as alienable and disposable in 2036.
For sure, the government may have the best intention in rehabilitating Boracay. Casinos in the island will not pose environmental problems since they will occupy only limited spaces and are known to follow the strictest standards imposed host governments.
Allowing casinos to operate will also enable government to recover lost revenues from the closure. Income from them, which will surely top gains from tourism, will be enough to fund the protection of Boracay from environmental abuse.
