MANILA – Only 25 out of more than 1,000 establishments inspected in Boracay were adhering to environmental laws, the Malacañang revealed.
In a press briefing on Tuesday, Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque gave updates on the government’s rehabilitation plan for the closed island resort.
“Mabuti nga po naisara na ang Boracay dahil ngayong sarado siya, nagkakaroon tayo ng compliance audit at lumalabas na halos walang compliant talaga diyan sa isla na ‘yan,” said Roque.
He added that the shutdown led to the identification of establishments contributing to water pollution in Boracay.
“Isang mabuting balita po ‘yan na malaman natin na andami palang mga hotel na may mga tubo na papunta mismo sa White Beach…‘Yan po ang kinabuti na walang tao ngayon sa Boracay at nakikita natin lahat ng dapat bigyan ng solusyon,” the Palace official stressed.
Roque reiterated that construction of new buildings in the beach destination is temporarily suspended amid the up-to-six-month rehabilitation period.
“Wala po ngayong pupwedeng magconstruct. So kung meron mang napirmahan [permit], suspended po ang work. At napakadali namang i-monitor niyan kasi pati ‘yung labas-pasok ng mga materyales, kontrolado,” he said.
Meanwhile, Roque announced that affected residents and informal workers from barangays Balabag, Manoc-Manoc and Yapak can now avail themselves of the cash-for-work program of the government.
Under the program, recipients would receive 100 percent of the regional wage rate – which amounts to P323.50 per day – for a 30-day period. This totals to P9,705.
Two types of work are covered under the program – labor work (i.e. digging, dredging, desilting canals and drainage systems, planting trees, clearing pathways, shelter/facility repair, demolition of illegal infrastructure, clearing debris, garbage collection, and installation of support facilities) and technical or office works (i.e. assisting in enumeration tasks/profiling, report preparation, preparation of replenishment and liquidation reports, disbursement during actual payment operations, camp management, and operations center work)./PN
