BORACAY ISLAND – President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday revealed why he wanted to place the island of Boracay under land reform.
In a speech on Independence Day, Duterte said he wanted Boracay’s indigenous people to earn a windfall when businesses return to the island and need new property.
“Ibigay ko na ngayon sa native by way of land reform. Alam mo bakit? Pagdating ng panahon, may mag-establish ng resorts but Boracay can only take so much, it’s just a small strip,” Duterte said at the oath-taking of new barangay officials in Pampanga.
“Ibigay ko sa mga natives so by the time magnegosyo na, the big business will go in, hawak na nila (natives) ang titulo at pwede na nilang ipagbili. Ang consolation ko is makahawak sila ng pera na malaki,” he added.
He said he wanted the Ati community of Boracay to benefit from the land even if they would eventually sell to resort owners.
“At least nakahawak sila, even for a brief moment in time meron silang tig-P500,000, P1 million, o P800,000. Para sa akin tabla na at least nakatikim lahat. ‘Yun ang gusto ko,” Duterte said.
“That’s why i-land reform ko ‘yun not really to benefit anybody except the people there, ibigay ko sa kanila ,” he added.
“Inyo ‘yan e. Balang araw ipagbili n’yo. Maybe your daughters and sons will reap at least konting pera makatikim kayo even for a moment. That is how I think about things,” Duterte said.
He said the natives are the real owners the reason he wanted them to have the land.
“After it (Boracay) is cleaned, ibabalik ko sa tao. Masiguro n’yo ibabalik ko sa may-ari na tutuo. I will not give it to the big businesses kasi Boracay can only take so much waste even with improved sewerage because of the volume,” Duterte said.
He said he discussed this with the Cabinet on Monday evening.
The President added he would let the Congress create a strip that would be considered commercial.
“Sabi I will leave it to Congress to create a strip and they might want to consider it as a commercial area. Because former President (Gloria Macapagal) Arroyo and I never signed any proclamation, it (Boracay) remains to be forested pati agriculture land,” Duterte said.
“Kung ayaw ni Ma’am ayaw ko rin, gaya gaya puto maya,” he added in jest, drawing laughter from the audience which included Arroyo.
Duterte has ordered a six-month closure of Boracay, which started in April, to allow government agencies to clean and rehabilitate the island resort after it suffered environmental issues. (GMA News)
