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BY PRINCE GOLEZ
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Thursday, March 8, 2018
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Stubborn bizmen, local execs face arrest – Duterte
MANILA – Local government officials and business operators in Boracay that won’t cooperate in the national government-led cleanup and rehabilitation of the world-famous island face arrest.
“If you put up a fight, I will charge you for sedition, for preventing the government from doing what is good for the Filipino people,” according to President Rodrigo Duterte yesterday.
He observed that some people were “nonchalant” about the environmental issues hounding the island resort.
“Kung ayaw nila mag-cooperate and they begin to protest, e kayo naman may kasalanan dyan. You are responsible for the damage all these years. Pati ‘yung mga local officials who are nonchalant of the problem there, arestuhin ko kayong lahat,” he warned.
On Tuesday the President announced he would declare a state of calamity in Boracay.
“It is in our interest to preserve Boracay’s pristine state just like before,” said the President during a speech at the 145th founding anniversary and 2nd Kanlahi Festival in Tarlac province yesterday.
He gave the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) six months to rehabilitate Boracay and file charges against those responsible for the island’s environmental problems.
“Kung hayaan mo na ganyan, time will come when it can no longer be of use to the next generation,” the Chief Executive said.
Placing Boracay under a state of calamity would hasten rehabilitation efforts, said Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque.
The state of calamity declaration would also allow the government to extend assistance to people displaced financially following the President’s order to dismantle illegal structures in the island, he added.
According to the DENR, fueling the island’s degradation over the years were runaway development, the influx of people beyond the island’s carrying capacity, poor implementation of environmental regulations, and encroachment of structures.
Sen. Cynthia Villar, chairperson of the Senate committee on environment and natural resources, expressed support to a state of calamity declaration.
“Mas magaan mag-implement (rehabilitation measures) if there’s state of calamity kaysa walang state of calamity…in terms of budget, in terms siguro of power,” said Villar.
Bureaucratic red tape would be avoided, she stressed.
“You don’t have to go through the bidding process na mahahaba. Then if you want to give money, you can give more without the procurement law. Siguro iyon ang ikinatatakot nila. Alam mo naman ang government, bureaucratic. Parang babawasan lang ang bureaucracy to do the job well,” said Villar.
DILG, meanwhile, created a 12-person team to investigate and file charges against local government officials and personnel and private individuals liable for the environmental problems of Boracay.
The team will, among others, look into the use of the environmental fee collected by the local government of Malay, Aklan if it is according to the law, said DILG officer-in-charge Eduardo Año.
The environmental fee is P75. It is collected from all tourists entering Boracay.
Villar denied having conflict of interest in the Senate investigation on Boracay.
An article titled “Family of senator conducting Boracay probe owns huge commercial properties on island resort” by investigative journalist Raissa Robles claimed the Villars bought the 54-room Boracay Sands resort in 2016.
The senator admitted her family has “a very small investment” in Boracay.
If it closes, “walang effect sa aming kumpanya. So I don’t care,” said Villar.
“I don’t think it will affect our business kahit isara nila ang Boracay. I have done so much for the environment and I am still doing it. Ako nga ang nakikipaglaban para ma-maintain ang wetlands sa Las Piñas-Paranñaque so I don’t think there is conflict of interest,” said Villar./PN
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