ILOILO CITY – Tourism stakeholders at world-famous Boracay Island in Malay, Aklan have united to oppose the creation of the Boracay Island Development Authority (BIDA).
Dubbed as “One Boracay,” various organizations representing almost 20,000 members are decrying the proposal for BIDA as the government-owned and controlled corporation (GOCC) that will oversee the management of the country’s most famous beach destination.
“BIDA as a GOCC (will have) powers and functions that duplicate and overlap with those already vested upon by national government agencies,” they said in an open letter sent to President Duterte this week. “It is repugnant to the very essence of federalism advocated and espoused by President Duterte,” they added.
Instead of BIDA, they are calling for the extension of the Boracay Inter-Agency Task Force (BIATF) Duterte created following the half-year closure of the resort island in April 2018.
BIATF has been mandated to ensure sustainability of the long-term rehabilitation of Boracay, which saw environmental damage due to decades of unregulated development.
BIATF is composed of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), the Department of Tourism (DOT), the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), the local government of Malay, and the provincial government of Aklan.
If BIDA becomes reality, the stakeholders fear there would be no participation from them and violates the Local Government Code.
The open letter was also sent to Senate President Vicente Sotto III and House Speaker Lord Allan Velasco and is signed by presidents of organizations representing Boracay travel agencies, tour operators, watersport associations, boat owners, van owners, tricycle owners, photographers, vendors, local fishermen, the indigenous peoples (IPs), and the Muslim community. It was also signed by officials of the three barangays in the resort island.