Senate committee seeks updates on Boracay rehab

Sen. Cynthia Villar has called for a committee hearing to hear the updates on the rehabilitation being conducted in Boracay Island two months after the island's closure.

Villar, chair of the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, said the committee will supplement rehabilitation efforts in the island by taking a closer look at the factors that significantly contribute to the deterioration of Boracay's ecological condition and threaten its position as a prime tourist destination.

"We will also work to come up with appropriate policies and strategic courses of actions for the protection and sustainable development of the island, including the proposal to create the Boracay Development Council," Villar said.

"We will also look at the lingering impact of the closure decision, particularly on the marginalized workers solely relying on their work in the island for their livelihood," she added.

The hearing on June 20 will be the second hearing on the Boracay issue. The first one was held in Boracay on March 2, and was attended by Villar, Senators Loren Legarda, Nancy Binay, Joel Villanueva, and Migz Zubiri.

During the hearing, the senators learned that informal settlers as well as temporary and permanent structures are encroaching on protected areas in the island. It was also discovered that only 15% of the establishments in the area are connected to the sewerage system and that majority of the establishments had to be demolished due to overbuilding and shoreline easement violations.

"Moving forward, this Committee likewise intends to come up with the appropriate legislation that will help in ensuring a concrete and total rehabilitation and sustainability of the ecological nature of Boracay for the years and generations to come," Villar said.