Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu says he remains on track to complete the rehabilitation of the world famous Boracay Island in Aklan by May 2021.
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The one-year extension given to the Boracay Inter-Agency Task Force (BIATF) was enough to achieve all its targets and lay the groundwork for a permanent government body that would manage the island, he said.
“The new executive order gives us another year and directs us to finish the rehabilitation of Boracay. We aim to do that as we propose a bill in Congress that would create a permanent management group for the island,” he noted.
President Rodrigo Duterte issued Executive Order No. 115, extending the term of the BIATF by one year or until May 2021.
The task force was originally set to end last May 8, or two years after it was created under EO 53.
Cimatu was referring to the proposed legislative measure creating the Boracay Island Development Authority or BIDA, an independent body that would oversee implementation of sustainable development activities on the island and ensure the continuity of BIATF’s accomplishments.
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“We want to preserve all the good things that resulted from rehabilitation of Boracay and which brought it back to its rightful place as one of the best islands in the world,” he said.
The task force would focus on its priority rehabilitation activities for completion before May 2021, including the enforcement of easement laws to clear the beachfront and roads of obstructions.
Boracay Island and other tourist destinations were closed to tourists due to the enhanced community quarantine to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
The island reopens on June 16, but only to residents of Western Visayas as the region shifts to a more relaxed modified general community quarantine.