BORACAY – Environment chief Roy Cimatu vowed to make Boracay Island a better place as the inter-agency task force pursues more projects under the last eight months of President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration.
The Boracay Inter-Agency Task Force (BIATF) has made some great strides in the rehabilitation and recovery to position the island as a safe destination for leisure travellers, he noted.
“We hope that what we leave behind for the island would be those that are worthy to be sustained or built upon by those succeeding us,” said Cimatu who, in 2018, was designated as BIATF chairperson to lead the rehabilitation of the island.
Cimatu shares this legacy with the stakeholders engaged in the sustainable tourism development of Boracay.
In 2018, the government came up with a plan to rehabilitate Boracay Island from the adverse effects of mass tourism. More vital collaborations and partnerships for a better industry restart were also pursued to revive tourism and economy.
BIATF reported that of the 339 structures encroaching the 25+5 meter beach easement, 282 have been demolished.
On the other hand, 1,057 or 86 percent of 1,230 structures were compliant of the 12-meter road easement.
Phase 4 of the Boracay Circumferential Road with 6.10-meter carriageway standard and road-right-of-way on both sides will be completed also by 2022.
Cimatu said “the term extension of BIATF should be enough to tie up all the loose ends of the island’s rehabilitation.”
“As we all know, the 2022 polls is just around the corner, thus we must ensure that we have the proper mechanisms in place so that our hard work and efforts would not turn to naught,” he stressed./PN
