Tourism chief wants Boracay restored as 'Garden of Eden'

By Jerome Aning
Inquirer
MANILA, Philippines--Tourism Secretary Joseph Ace Durano urged the Department of Environment and Natural Resources on Sunday to help Boracay island regain its lost "Garden of Eden" state, aside from suspending new construction on the island.
"I welcome the concern Environment Secretary Lito Atienza has shown for the environmental welfare of Boracay. Since Boracay urgently needs restorative interventions, I urge him to also invest the resources of DENR in restorative programs and technologies aside from exercising its regulatory powers on the island," said Durano in a text message to the Philippine Daily Inquirer, parent company of INQUIRER.net.
The Department of Tourism's implementing arm, the Philippine Tourism Authority, also welcomed Atienza's move.
"We have been asking the local government for a moratorium because, you know, many resorts have mushroomed left and right on the island over the past months," PTA general manager Robert Dean Barbers told the Inquirer newspaper in a phone interview.
Many resorts also defied national laws and local ordinances relating to construction, commerce, environment and health, he said.
"We had to demolish a lot of illegal structures and we have been sued before the courts because some resorts refused to let our sewage and water pipes pass through their properties," Barbers said.
In April 2006, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo gave the PTA administrative control over Boracay, to be exercised in coordination with the Aklan provincial government.
The PTA, among others, is empowered to formulate zoning regulations, determine zone enterprises, maintain the island's ecology and operate facilities in tourist zones like Boracay.
The President declared Boracay a special tourism zone in 2005.
The PTA is spearheading the revision of the decades-old tourism master development plan for Boracay to strengthen the island's position as a premier tourist destination comparable to Thailand's Phuket and Indonesia's Bali.
Atienza last week put on hold new construction on Boracay island until its master development plan is completed in the next six months. Barbers, however, said the plan could be ready as early as next month.
Atienza issued the order as he called on the municipal government of Malay, which has jurisdiction over Boracay, to stop issuing construction permits for new projects.
He said the national government must step in to stop uncontrolled development on the island.
According to Barbers, the plan would cover the northern Aklan port town of Caticlan, the gateway to Boracay, and nearby Carabao Island, which also has beautiful beaches.