ILOILO City – Tourism establishments in Boracay may soon be limited to beachfront spaces should the government’s plan to put the island under land reform pushes through, according to Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) secretary John Castriciones.
President Rodrigo Duterte reiterated last week his plan to make Boracay a land reform area, adding that the government is studying to put up “only a small area for tourism.”
“We would still maintain Boracay as a tourist destination but we would probably limit it in the areas which are near the beaches because apparently those are the areas where tourists – both foreign and local – are more interested,” Castriciones told ANC’s Headstart.
If placed under land reform, some 400 hectares of land in Boracay will be distributed to local farmers through DAR.
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources, meanwhile, will restore some 400 hectares of forestland in the island.
About 20 to 25 hectares of land are already ready for distribution, said Castriciones.
He added that the distribution of some lands will take time, if ever, because structures are built on them.
“[It] would take some time [to recover and distribute some lands] because we see some resistance because of the investments they made there, because they will probably bring it to the courts,” Castriciones said.
Boracay generated about P56-billion tourism receipts in the first nine months of 2017, a group of hotel and tours operators in Boracay has said.
“We would like to maintain its [Boracay’s] tourism quality [but] if we go on with the way that Boracay is being abused, I’m very sure that we will lose Boracay in the end,” Castriciones said.
The island was closed off to tourists for six months beginning April 26 to pave the way for its rehabilitation. (With a report from ABS-CBN News/PN)
