PRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte is considering the formation of a committee which will be tasked to determine the “rightful owners” in the Visayan tourist island of Boracay.
Mr. Duterte also said he plans to place the island’s “back side” under agrarian reform, although observers monitoring Boracay’s rehabilitation have earlier noted the island’s physical features as being mostly of woodlands and beaches.
“Now the problem is how to determine who owns what. ‘Yan ang problema ngayon (That is the problem now). So, there has to be a committee to be fair to everybody. From the local government, then from the origins of any title there,” the President said in his remarks during the 31st anniversary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) on Wednesday, July 4.
He added: “Because ang problema niyan (the problem there), the island of Boracay, according to President Arroyo at sa akin (and myself), my stand is that Boracay has never been open to any commercial exploitation. Walang (it has no) residential [area]. It remains forestal and agriculture.”
Proclamation No. 1064 issued by then president Gloria M. Arroyo “classifies Boracay Island situated in the Municipality of Malay, Province of Aklan as Forestland (for Protection purposes) and Agricultural Land (Alienable and Disposable) in accordance with the provisions of Commonwealth Act 141, otherwise known as the Public Land Act and Section 13 of Presidential Decree No. 705 otherwise known as Forestry Reform Code of the Philippines, subject to actual ground survey and delineation.”
Mr. Duterte also said he wants the “back side of Boracay” placed “under land reform,” referring to the east side of the island, which includes Bulabog Beach.
The government’s interagency task force, composed of DENR, Department of Tourism, Department Public Works and Highways, and Department of the Interior and Local Government, is undertaking a rehabilitation of Boracay in line with Mr. Duterte’s Executive Order No. 53.
Mr. Duterte likewise stressed that his administration has no interest in the island. “Wala kaming interest diyan (We have no interest in Boracay).”
He also reaffirmed his earlier remarks that “I will not allow gambling. I will not even give it to big business(es). Let us determine first who owns the place. If there is any title, and if it gets to be muddy to really dwell into it and question everything, well I leave it to the local governments to decide or to the Congressman.”
The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) had earlier disclosed that a casino-resort project planned for Boracay had been placed on hold, Reuters reported in April. The previous month, PAGCOR announced a second casino project in the offing. But the government has since been considering a full-year rehabilitation for the tourist island. — Arjay L. Balinbin

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