Resort owners in the world-famous Boracay Island have expressed support for the plan of Environment Secretary Lito Atienza to enforce a six-month moratorium on all new construction on the island in order to draw up a master plan for its further development.
The resort owners also urged the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to conduct a study on the capacity of the island to absorb development to address problems on overcrowding and exploitation of resources.
Atienza pointed out that the government must step in to stop the uncontrolled development on the resort island since the negative effects of unplanned development would place the people at risk.
He cautioned that landslides might take place in Boracay due to the depletion of its forests in the face of unregulated construction of various structures in the mountains.
“The negative impact of unplanned development will eventually compromise the safety and welfare of the public. Leveling the mountains to build structures could trigger landslides,” Atienza said.
Dr. Orlando Sacay, former chairman of the Boracay Foundation Inc. (BFI), which is composed of a group of resort owners and businessmen on the island, said the island’s sewerage, garbage disposal, and migration problems increase everyday because of the number of people flocking to Boracay in search of economic opportunities.
Lovell Khan, an official of BFI, said the traders are helpless in regulating the entry of people.
“Local residents of Boracay are consuming more water than tourists. They are consuming half of the water available, limiting water for tourists. But it is the tourists who sustain Boracay,” Sacay said.
Sacay proposed a housing facility in the mainland of Aklan province for employees and ambulant vendors to keep them away from the island.
“No employee or vendor should be allowed to sleep on the island, only tourists should be allowed to sleep on the island, as one of the measures to regulate the entry of people in Boracay,” Sacay explained.