Defensor, Boracay resort owners back Atienza as DENR chief

Former Manila Mayor Joselito “Lito” Atienza is “well-qualified” to head the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), said his predecessor Michael Defensor yesterday.

Defensor’s defense of Atienza came as pro-environment groups criticized President Arroyo’s decision to appoint the former Manila mayor to the DENR claiming that he was responsible for the cutting down of trees in the Arroceros Forest Park.

Both Defensor and Atienza belong to the Liberal Party (LP) Atienza wing and are known supporters of the Arroyo administration. Defensor, after serving the DENR, became the presidential chief of staff before he ran under the administration ticket Team Unity (TU) but lost his bid in the senatorial race.

In a statement, Defensor highlighted one of Atienza’s accomplishments in promoting the environment when he was still the city’s vice mayor.

The local Council then passed Ordinance no. 7777 that called for the protection of the Manila Bay and prohibited reclamation in the city to preserve view of the majestic sunset.

Atienza is currently in the United States attending to his pro-life advocacy. He recently received a Human Life Achievement Award in Virginia.

Atienza had expressed his gratitude to Mrs. Arroyo, saying he was “deeply honored” by her support and trust.

Meanwhile, resort owners in world-renowned Boracay beach also welcomed the appointment of Atienza to the DENR, saying his “tourism-oriented” style can help boost the island’s revenues.

Businessman Orlando Sacay, former chairman of the Boracay Foundation Inc., said the new environment secretary can be instrumental in their conflict with the agency, which declared and re-classified the island as “forest and agricultural land,” through Executive Order 1064.

“Atienza is a friend of Boracay. He even donated vehicles to the island. He is a frequent visitor. He even brought the members of the city council to visit the island. He is tourism-oriented as shown by his many projects to promote tourism during his tenure,” he said.

According to Sacay, a former agriculture undersecretary and owner of the Waling-Waling Beach Hotel, resort owners would like to have an audience with Atienza to discuss ways by which they “resolve the conflict with DENR,” which started during the time of Defensor.

“We fought EO 1064 which former DENR Secretary Defensor was responsible for because it claimed that Boracay is forest and owned by the government,” Sacay said. “This would result in the disposition of land through public bidding.”

Sacay and similarly-situated resort owners insist they have prior vested rights to the land they now occupy because they have been there for more than 30 years, have developed it by establishing resorts and have been instrumental in making it world-class.

Tourism revenues in the resort-island is conservatively placed at P7 billion every year. – Delon Porcalla, Evelyn Macairan and Judith Catabay