SENATOR Cynthia Villar on Friday rejected the government’s plan to shut down Boracay for 60 days and insisted that the businesses polluting the island should be closed temporarily during the resort’s rehabilitation.
On the other hand, Senator Juan Edgardo Angara said the government should ensure that the workers affected by the closure of their establishments should be given assistance.
Another official said government workers found guilty of neglect resulting in the island resort’s pollution would be charged in less than six months.
Eduardo Año, officer in charge of the Interior Department, said they will file the charges with the Ombudsman.
“The Ombudsman is helping us. The Ombudsman will decide because they have the authority,” Año told reporters Thursday night.
“We will provide all the available information and the facts to the Ombudsman.”
Boracay, known for its white sands and crystal-clear waters, attracts more than two million tourists a year and brings in P56 billion in annual revenues.
Villar, head of the Senate’s environment committee, said those establishments found non-compliant with government rules should be closed while those found compliant should be allowed to operate.
Villar led other senators and some Cabinet officials in an inspection in Boracay following reports its waters are being polluted.
She said all the establishments there must secure an Environmental Compliance Certificate from the Environment Department and a permit from the local government before they could operate.
She also said the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority should make sure the establishments in Boracay followed all the laws.
The Interior Department recently announced it would propose a six-month state of calamity and two-month commercial shutdown in Boracay to hasten its rehabilitation.
Labor groups in Western Visayas have expressed fears that almost 19,000 formal and informal workers could lose their jobs with Boracay’s shutdown.
“While we fully support the immediate rehabilitation of Boracay, we can’t turn a blind eye to the possible displacement of thousands of workers. Thousands of families will be affected,” Angara said.
He has called on the stakeholders to take advantage of the Green Jobs Law that gives incentives to the providers of jobs that contribute substantially to the preservation and restoration of the environment.