Senate panel no longer keen on total closure of Boracay

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Cynthia Villar on Sunday reiterated that the Senate Committee on Environment will no longer recommend a total closure of establishments on Boracay Island in Aklan.

 

Instead, Villar said, the panel will only recommend the closure of non-compliant establishments.

 

"Compliant [establishments in Boracay] can go on with their business but the non-compliant [ones] should be closed until they fulfill their requirement," Villar, whose family corporation has a six-hectare condominium project on the island, said in an interview with dzBB.

 

Earlier, Villar, who heads the Senate panel, and Sen. Loren Legarda proposed that those establishments that violate the law should be penalized.

 

Aside from the closure of the non-compliant establishments, Villar also suggested passing a law requiring the national and local governments to jointly manage tourist destinations.

 

The recommendation came after the Senate committee conducted an investigation into the degradation of the island last Friday. 

Also present during the inquiry were Senators Nancy Binay, Joel Villanueva and Juan Miguel Zubiri.

 

Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque earlier said President Rodrigo Duterte wants local government units held liable for the environmental damage in Boracay.

 

READ: Duterte wants local officials held liable for mess on Boracay

 

In a speech in February, Duterte threatened to shut down the famous tourist destination, saying it had become a cesspool. However, Roque clarified that the president never mentioned the closure of Boracay at a recent Cabinet meeting.

 

Meanwhile, Villar said that the Senate panel ordered the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to prepare a report for the next hearing into the Boracay mess.

 

Duterte previously directed the DENR to recommend a course of action regarding the island's problems within 60 days.

 

The agency also earlier served notices of closure on some 300 establishments found to not be connected to the island's sewage system and with no proper water system.  However, a source of The STAR claimed "many of these 300 establishments have complied (with the requirements)."

 

READ: Resort owners: Don’t close Boracay

 

Villar said the Senate would help in cleaning Boracay up.

 

She is also mulling recommending a limit on the number of tourists in Boracay.

 

"I think in the future there should be [a limit]," Villar was quoted in a radio report as saying.

 

International travel planning and booking site TripAdvisor recently named Boracay one of the top beaches in Asia despite the environmental woes it is facing. It placed second in the roster of 25 best beaches in the Asian region.