The ‘slaughter’ of Boracay in spite of the 1986 Master Plan (Part I)

Dr. Miguel Fortes is a passionate coastal ecologist, biodiversity and integrated coastal area management specialist. He was director of UP Marine Science Institute with distinguished work credentials from Duke University, NC, USA, and University of Hamburg, West Germany. Because of his 27 years of experience on coastal restoration ecology, linking this to management, he was a technical consultant to 37 projects dealing with resource assessment, mitigation advocacy and policy formulation. He was also the project manager of JST-JICA Project Coastal Ecosystems Conservation and Adaptive Management in collaboration with eight Japanese institutions. His articles called the public attention on how the drastic degradation of Boracay Island is converting it into a miserable ghetto of high-rise condominiums.

I think a “slaughter” has been taking place before our eyes and we choose to remain oblivious to it. On the “dossier,” our victim is Boracay, and the murderers are the developers and owners. The accomplices are the local government officials. The motive behind the ongoing environmental crime: GREED.

Small island management

Boracay Island, located in the Western Visayas region, comprises the barangays of Manoc-Manoc, Balabag, and Yapak (three of the 17 barangays which make up the municipality of Malay). It is under the administrative control of the Philippine Tourism Authority in coordinating with the Provincial Government of Aklan. The province is governed by Gov. Florencio Miraflores, who was re-elected in 2013 since his first tenure in 1995-2004. Before him, from 2004-2013, Carlito Marquez was the governor.

The best part of the island is the four-kilometer stretch known as “White Beach” with very fine powdery sand and pristine clear blue waters. It is divided into three stations: Station 1, 2 and 3. Along the beachfront are resorts, hotels, restaurants, bars, dive shops, D’Mall, D’Talipapa (marketplace), Willy’s Rock (a natural rock formation), tourism information centers, etc.

Dr. Fortes recalled that when tourists began to discover Boracay in 1986 during the governance of Pres. Corazon Aquino, then Department of Tourism official Nars Lim put together a team, which included Dr. Fortes, to draw up three volumes of Boracay Master Plan. If it had been followed, the various problems worsening in the island would have been easily prevented.

The 1999 unesco ncms workshop with lgu, ngos,  entrepreneurs of Boracay

For three days in February 1999, I, as UNESCO Secretary General with 12 members of the UNESCO National Committee on Marine Sciences (NCMS), did a workshop with the community of Boracay, led by the late Dr. Rolu Encarnacion of PAGASA, DOST and Marine Scientist Miguel Fortes. The focus of the workshop was on the knowledge and expertise essential in mitigating the negative impact of Global Climate Change (GCC) and tourism. We also mobilized the community to adapt to these changes, especially in relation to their livelihood base, which is tourism.

With transportation cost escalating, service providers from Aklan, Romblon and Marinduque could no longer commute, so the population has increased from 8,000 in 1986 to 33,000 at present, doubling at peak season to 80,000 with local and foreign tourists. Exceeding the limits of the carrying capacity of the island is the major cause of trouble in this so-called “paradise.” Thus, water is now “imported” from Aklan, waste disposal problem is very serious, and hotels including 300 to 500-room establishments, have squeezed the limited space.

Ocean watch

Francisco “Jun” Torres Jr., aqua-culturist of the National Fisheries Research and Development Institute, warned of the importance of an ocean watch team. The discoloration of the water could spill the harmful “red tide,” especially with the rise in temperature. He warns of excessive sewage disposal from numerous establishments endangering water purity. Fortunately, the water current of Tablas Strait of Romblon helps wash away the Boracay sewage, lessening the danger.

Cyrus Tapispisan, skipper of the glass-bottom boat, lamented that the coral reefs have no chance of revival since hundreds of ferryboats, which ply constantly between Caticlan and the Boracay ports, drop their heavy anchor on them. It gets worse with the larger “roro” boats and fishing boats which do not follow the parking areas designated by the municipality. Cyrus complained to the police but nothing has happened.

With the absence of these reefs, the whiplash of waves during typhoon season has been changing the shape of the island. The 25-meter rule between the waters and the hotels can no longer be observed because flooding is more frequent, causing the shoreline to advance toward the establishments. The UNESCO NCMS recommended applying “soft engineering” with replanting mangroves or sea grass to encourage new corals to grow or riprapping with “hard engineering” but neither failed to materialize.

We don’t have enough laws

 Philippine STAR columnist Cito Beltran never lets up the fight for government officials to observe God’s Commandments.

“We have too many laws that make it almost impossible to remove, eject, or relocate people from danger zones. We also don’t have enough laws that make it criminal for local officials not to do something about the situation; we don’t have laws that prevent Meralco and MWSS from supplying utilities to informal settlers; we don’t have laws preventing the Comelec from registering informal settlers. We don’t have laws that prevent people from taking up residence in communities where they don’t have property, rental agreement, or pay local taxes. We need to rationalize and consolidate all laws pertaining to squatting. Then we have the local government code that has given too much power and too much room for interpretation to the advantage of local officials. In other words, the President and this administration need to fix the legislative problem once and for all.” Remember the slaughter of Sodom and Gomorrah, God’s sample of meting justice!

(Part II: “Coastal Stewardship of Philippine Islands”)