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Duterte gives go signal for Boracay action plan
FILE: OVERTIME. Laborers work overtime to get the Boracay icon (upper left) finished before the island’s reopening at the Cagban Jetty Port on Thursday (Oct. 25, 2018). The world-famous Boracay island’s re-opening is slated Friday (Oct. 26) after a 6-month rehabilitation.
Shown foreground are boats of Task Force Bantay Boracay, a multi-agency created by the Aklan provincial government tasked to help keep peace and order. (PNA photo by Gigie R. Arcilla-Agtay)
Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo on Tuesday, July 2, said President Rodrigo Duterte has approved the Boracay Medium-Term Action Plan that will maintain the rehabilitation efforts of the world-renowned island.
The plan was approved during the 39th Cabinet meeting in Malacañang on Monday, July 1.
“We likewise announce the approval of the Boracay Medium-Term Action Plan which will sustain the efforts of the government after its closure,” Panelo said.
Citing National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Director General and Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia and Undersecretary Adoracion Navarro, Panelo said the action plan has four themes: enforcement of laws where there will be intervention on the regulation of visitors and hotel accommodations; prevention where there will be interventions on the sewerage infrastructure, solid and liquid waste management; rehabilitation and recovery of ecosystems; and sustainability of activities in the island such as improvement of roads and public health infrastructure, construction of permanent housing program for indigenous people and education facilities.
The Boracay Inter-Agency Task Force adopted the action plan in December 2018. According to NEDA earlier, the proposed estimated total investment requirement for the plan covering 233 programs, projects, and activities is P25.27-billion. Sixty-four percent or P16.21-billion will be allocated for infrastructure, while 62.9 percent or P15.89-billion of the total cost will be shouldered by the private sector.
The agency had said the action plan will be implemented until 2022.
Last April 2018, the President ordered the closure of Boracay Island for six months to give way for its rehabilitation, after he called the popular holiday destination a “cesspool.”
It opened its door to the public in October 2018.
