STATEMENT IN RESPONSE TO SEC. HARRY ROQUE JR.’S ANNOUNCEMENT

For Immediate Release
April 5, 2018

STATEMENT IN RESPONSE TO SEC. HARRY ROQUE JR.’S ANNOUNCEMENT

BORACAY ISLAND, MALAY - The haze of uncertainty for the past weeks has now been replaced by a grim realization that closure is indeed happening; sooner than expected and with less than a month to prepare. For too many members of the Boracay community, life has gone from confusing to disappointing, to despairing.

In the absence of clear guidelines communicated to us, we believe it is too premature for us to issue specific statements pertaining to the closure. The reality is that the BFI is just as confused as everyone else, because the pronouncement came too soon with no clear and specific guidelines presented to us. We have sought an opportunity to dialogue with the concerned agencies in an effort to seek help and guidance, with the following questions in mind:

1) What are the specific closure and rehabilitation plan and timeline?
2) The government is looking after the welfare of all the employees – formal or informal, who inevitably will be affected by the closure of Boracay, how will the government identify who are qualified to receive support? What identification or specific documentation do they need to present to avail of this? When will this support be made available? What will be the basis of the amount of support to be provided to each worker?
3) Will the government intervene for small or big businesses that have availed of loans by mandating banks to relax their terms/moratorium as businesses will be unable to pay their loans due to loss of income?
4) Regarding taxes, will the government temporarily suspend the collection of taxes of island tourism establishments due to the stoppage of commercial operations?
5) How will they regulate the entry and exit of residents to and from the island, which is home to more than fifty thousand (50,000) residents?
6) During the rehabilitation, will the utilities continue to service the community?
7) Are there safeguards in place to prevent any possible abuse in the distribution of assistance by the government?
8) With the limited access into and out of the island, will the residents be assured of a stable supply of basic necessities such as rice, food, toiletries, etc?
9) Once sanctions are applied to the LGUs, who will be in charge of Boracay? What is the extent of their authority?
10) It was mentioned that there is a chance of re-opening earlier than six months, what benchmark should be met so this can be achieved?

The BFI believes that the key issues of Boracay will be addressed even less than six months with the help and cooperation of all sectors concerned, with proper planning and sufficient funding.

Again, we thank PRRD for listening and taking the lead in addressing decades-old problems; problems such as this “cesspool” issue that, for years, the BFI has been in the forefront of bringing to light. We all want the same thing; we all agree that rehabilitating Boracay is a must. We should all see ourselves as working side by side, attacking the problems constructively, instead of confronting each other. We are optimistic that all the uncertainties that we are currently facing will soon be resolved.

For more information, please contact us:
Tel No: (036) 288 3971 (Office Hours: 9 am – 5:30 pm)
E-mail: boracayfoundation@yahoo.com
Facebook: Boracay Foundation Inc