Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Roy A. Cimatu vowed Friday to provide aid and social safety nets to indigent families affected by ongoing enforcement activities on Boracay Island.
“We have to balance our duty to strictly enforce environmental laws on the island with the social aspect of our task,” said Cimatu following a meeting of the Boracay Inter-Agency Task Force (BIATF) at the world-renowned resort island.
“As the BIATF completes its rehabilitation targets pursuant to an executive order issued by President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, it will make sure that aid will be given to indigent families affected by the implementation of the easement laws in Boracay,” he added.
Cimatu explained that the concerned families will be provided “cash assistance and relocation sites.”
Also in the meeting, the Boracay Inter-Agency Rehabilitation and Management Group (BIARMG) reported that there are still 90 structures on the island that need to be demolished for violating the 25+5-meter beachfront easement rule.
In her report, BIARMG General Manager Natividad Bernardino said occupants of the illegal structures include 40 indigent families.
She noted that a working group has been formed to assess the type of social assistance that each affected indigent family will need in terms of relocation and or cash assistance.
The working group is composed of representatives from the BIARMG, the DENR, the municipal government of Malay, Aklan and barangays chiefs of Manoc-Manoc, Yapak, and Balabag.
“We provided the group with a list of families for profiling to determine and identify the social assistance they need,” Bernardino said.
Aklan Gov.Florencio Miraflores assured that the provincial government will also extend help to the affected families.
To ensure the completion of critical projects in Boracay, the BIATF has been authorized to undertake the demolition of remaining establishments encroaching on forest lands and wetlands, as well as enforce beach and road easement rules.
Meanwhile, Cimatu commended the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) for the series of successful operations it carried out in October and November that led to the eviction of big establishments illegally occupying the forestlands in Barangays Balabag and Manoc-manoc.
The NBI has lodged a complaint before the Office of the Provincial Prosecutor of Aklan against the illegal occupants for violation of Presidential Decree (PD) 705 or the Revised Forestry Code of the Philippines, PD 1067 or the Water Code of the Philippines, and Municipal Order 2000-131 which regulates the construction of buildings and other structures in Boracay.
“The establishments have repeatedly ignored the notices to vacate, notices of demolition, and show cause orders issued against them by authorities,’’ the DENR said.