BY BOY RYAN B. ZABAL
Presidential spokesperson
Harry Roque, Jr. said the first six months of closure is crucial if stakeholders
want Boracay Island to preserve as a prime tourist destination.
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| PHOTO BOY RYAN B. ZABAL |
To fastrack Boracay’s rehabilitation,
President Rodrigo Duterte will issue an executive order or proclamation for a state of calamity for Boracay before leaving to Singapore on April
26 for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit.
Roque said the national
government needs the legal basis for the shutdown of Boracay as well as the
state of calamity declaration.
“It’s coming out, it has
been drafted. Otherwise, we will take time to comply the government rules on
procurement. Don’t worry. It is no big deal since people (in Boracay) had been told,
they knew it will happen, we have an advance notice. It is some sort of
formality,” Roque told CNN Philippines.
The state of calamity is
needed to fastrack the procurement process to fix sewerage and drainage systems
and the immediate release of P2.3-billion calamity funds.
Roque said the funds are
available for 17,000 ‘real workers’ affected by Boracay closure especially
those employed in the island for years.
Stop-gap measures by
inter-agency task force such as the Department of Tourism, Department of
Environment and Natural Resources and Department of Interior and Local
Government were also implemented months before the looming closure, he added.
Police and the military
were also deployed to thwart lawless elements and to maintain
peace and order in the island.
With this, Roque said the
inter-agency task force is expecting a soft opening of Boracay Island within
four months.
First published by
independent online blog Aklan Forum Journal. The unrestricted use in print,
radio, publication and distribution of articles are allowed provided the
original author and Aklan Forum Journal are credited.
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