MALAY, Aklan – Vice Mayor Abram Sualog appeals to the inter-agency group tasked to restore Boracay to find a relocation site for displaced island residents.
Sualog was referring to locals whose houses were built on Boracay’s wetlands and forestlands, which are classified as not “alienable and disposable” under former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s Presidential Proclamation No. 1064 issued in 2006.
The protected land areas comprise 403.04 hectares of the 1,032-hectare island resort.
The inter-agency group – composed of the Department of Tourism, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, and the Department of Interior and Local Government – has been cracking down on illegal settlers in these protected areas.
This being one of the five key problems that need to be addressed in Boracay during the six-month rehabilitation period, Sualog said some residents will be greatly affected.
“In the wake of President Duterte’s declaration of a six-month closure to give way to Boracay rehabilitation, the LGU Malay is in predicament as to the displaced residents,” said Sualog.
He added that the municipal government has “limited resources” and thus not ready to help the displaced locals.
“The affected residents have no other place to go. We are hoping that the national government agencies involved in Boracay rehabilitation have plans to assist them,” Sualog said. “There are no immediate income opportunities elsewhere for affected residents but in Boracay.”
Resettlement will give displaced residents a “chance to start their lives anew,” he stressed.
The vice mayor also asked the inter-agency group to prioritize hiring displaced island workers for the much-needed rehabilitation of Boracay.
“They are porters, tricycle drivers, boatmen, vendors, and masons. They look up to the national and local governments for help,” Sualog said. (Aklan Forum Journal/PN)
