EDITORIAL - How to scare away investors

If the administration is trying to attract investments, it is sending the wrong signals in Boracay. Over the years private entrepreneurs have turned the resort island in Aklan into one of the country’s most popular tourist destinations. Those entrepreneurs have banded together to prevent environmental degradation that might sully the powdery white sand and pristine waters for which Boracay is renowned.

Instead of lauding these entrepreneurs for turning Boracay into a success story, the administration now wants not just a piece of the action but a virtual government takeover of the island. This is according to Aklan Rep. Florencio Miraflores, who disclosed last Monday that President Arroyo issued Proclamation 1064 in May, reclassifying the Boracay town where most of the beach resorts are located into "forest and agricultural land" that is alienable and disposable. Miraflores said the presidential proclamation was issued upon the recommendation of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. How can beachfront estates be classified as forests and agricultural areas? A brainchild of presidential chief of staff Michael Defensor when he was the environment secretary, the move has raised the hackles of Boracay resort owners, who over the years have paid billions of pesos in taxes and drawn thousands of tourists to the Philippines.

The government has explained that 90 percent of the resort island is not covered by land titles, and the proclamation is meant merely to bring order to ownership of enterprises, which in turn could facilitate development of the island. If the administration is sincere in its intentions, it should reassure the Boracay entrepreneurs that their investments will be protected even with the proclamation. Ignoring the complaints of these investors will fuel speculation on who stands to benefit from the sale of Boracay properties. It will also raise questions on how many other tracts of land the government plans to declare as alienable and disposable, and then sell off for commercial purposes.