They can be considered victims of their own success: places that draw tourists in droves and, consequently, a horde of entrepreneurs and informal settlers. Local government executives, unable or unwilling to enforce zoning rules and stop informal settlement, soon find themselves facing overcrowding and overdevelopment.
Now the Aquino administration wants to reverse the trend in at least two top tourist destinations: Baguio City and Boracay. Fears have been raised that the effort may be too late. The trees that gave Baguio the moniker “City of Pines” have been decimated, except in a handful of enclaves that cater to moneyed visitors. The trees were cut down to make room for houses, many of them built of flimsy materials and perched precariously on stilts over steep slopes. Several famous views in Baguio are now blocked by such structures. The city no longer smells like pine trees but like the traffic-choked, polluted streets of Metro Manila.
Over in Boracay, old-timers are struggling to regulate resort development. The local government in Aklan has banned the construction of structures within 25 meters from the mean watermark on the island, which is entirely government land until 2016, according to a Supreme Court ruling handed down in 2006. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources has also imposed a moratorium on the issuance of environmental compliance certificates to stop further construction in Boracay.
Whether these efforts will work remains to be seen. Deadly landslides in denuded areas of Baguio City in recent years have failed to discourage informal settlement even along the steepest slopes. Business establishments also continue to mushroom everywhere. Even belatedly, authorities should pursue the preservation of attractions in Baguio and Boracay, and make sure such problems will not bedevil emerging tourist destinations.