Aklan soon to be RP’s retirement haven too
BY VENUS G. VILLANUEVA

CATICLAN JETTY PORT. The main jump-off point to the famed Boracay Island, one of the destinations envisioned as retirement village of the Philippine Retirement Authority (BRZabal)

NEW WASHINGTON, Aklan - With Boracay Island’s pristine, long beautiful beaches, Aklan’s modern medical facilities big shopping centers and airports of international standard, the province will be the next retirement village site in the Philippines, according to Philippine Retirement Authority (PRA) Chairman Edgar Aglipay.
General Aglipay headed the group that came to Aklan Friday, April 13 as part of PRA’s awareness campaign for Western Visayas residents to promote the retirement program, the latest key flagship program of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
The awareness campaign in Aklan came in the form of a luncheon press conference which was held at Sampaguita Gardens in New Washington town and attended by members of the Aklan media and representatives and heads of national and provincial offices. Aklan Governor Carlito S. Marquez also joined the activity.
Gen. Aglipay said that in targeting Aklan where Boracay is as one of the country’s retirement haven, the PRA considers the fact that there is already no need for an extensive promotion of the place as Boracay is very popular throughout the world.
“The retirement industry is a big one and the government targets that by 2015 when even a minimal percentage of retirees from the different parts of the world come to the Philippines, there will be an estimated $44 Billion inflow in the country. With this, 4 million Filipinos will be given jobs and there will be reverse migration – Filipinos no longer need to work abroad as work could be found here with good pay, and they can also be with their families,” Aglipay stressed.
Aglipay also said all these things will have multiplier effects.
Aklan Governor Carlito Marquez, for his part, said he fully supports the program of the Philippine Retirement Authority, and in fact, had already been briefed by Gen. Aglipay on the program earlier.
“We are preparing Boracay Island to be the number 1 tourist destination of the world. In fact, during the recent Holy Week, Boracay Island was cited to be the number 1 tourist destination of the country for the period, with Cebu and Bohol at its heels. We are envisioning Boracay or Nabas as a retirement village site and other areas as long as the place is located along the tourism zone. Our local government units are preparing for this opportunity because of tourism receipts. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is also very optimistic with our place, citing Aklan as the golden province of the country,” Marquez revealed.
Along with Aglipay’s group was Bureau of Immigration Commissioner and PRA trustee Enrique Galang, who said the retirement program is good for the economy. Caregivers, nurses, English teachers (in the case of Korean retirees) will be much in demand in retirement villages, according to Galang.

“Currently, retirement villages in the Philippines are found in Cebu, Baguio and Manila. I happened to ask some retirees of how they feel about the Philippines and they can only say ‘Paradise’. It’s only in the Philippines, they say, where they can witness the rising and setting of the sun regularly, unlike in their countries in Europe or in the US,” Galang said.