Boracay task force formally signs off after island’s rehab works

By Jennifer P. Rendon

Four years since it was closed for a major overhaul, Boracay Island in Malay, Aklan is deemed to have regained its old glory.

Since its inception, the Boracay Inter-Agency Task Force (BIATF) has encountered lots of birth pains

Natividad Bernardino, who stood as general manager of the Boracay Inter-Agency Rehabilitation Management Group (BIARMG) until January 2022, said enforcement of environmental laws was the biggest challenge they had to hurdle.

“We had to demolish like 1,300 structures illegally encroaching on public easement and illegal occupants of forest lands na dapat kasuhan,” she said.

But that challenge also stood as their biggest accomplishment also as “we were able to implement the rehabilitation works,” Bernardino said.

Bernardino said the island got back its old glory and people are now more disciplined.

Meanwhile, Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Jim Sampulna claimed success in their bid to rehabilitate the island.

On Thursday, June 16, the agency spearheaded the culminating celebration of the DENR-led BIATF.

The task force was created through Executive Order No. 53 dated May 8, 2018 “to reverse the degradation of Boracay Island.”

Among others, it was charged to oversee the island’s rehabilitation while safeguarding its ecological resilience.

Supposedly, BIATF’s term will end two years after it was formed but it was extended for another year through Executive Order 115.

Last year, President Rodrigo Duterte again extended BIATF’s stint to June 30, 2022 following the task force’s recommendation.

As BIATF’s term is coming to an end, the island’s management would be handed over to the local government of Malay, Aklan.

Four years into the BIATF’s existence, Sampulna reported to Duterte that “sir, mission accomplished.”

And for incoming president Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., “we are informing you sir na malinis na ang Boracay at sana ay mapanatili natin na ganito ang Boracay.”

Sampulna also believed that Marcos Jr. would continue what the BIATF started in Boracay Island.

“I would recommend that President Bongbong would continue because this is the crown jewel of the Philippines. Boracay is an internationally known vacation and leisure place,” he said.

He also challenged the local government to make good of what the BIATF has started.

“Boracay Island is for the Filipino people. So, dapat i-improve nila at dapat ma-maintain nila na ganito kaganda,” he said.

This is a now a challenge to Malay LGU, he added. “Binigay natin ito na napakalinis at napakaganda. Halos ibinalik natin sa pristine situation niya. Dapat ma-maintain nila because this is the crowning glory of the Philippines.”

Sampulna said, though, that the DENR, Department of Tourism (DOT), and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) would still be there and would not totally abandon the island.

Sampulna has also suggested the possible appointment of a local ENR officer to oversee the island’s carrying capacity and the local government concurrence to existing environmental standards.

Duterte ordered the six-month closure of Boracay Island in 2018 after labeling it as a “cesspool” because of numerous environmental problems.