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FILIPINO
businessmen have supported the controversial moratorium
on construction activities in Boracay and called for a
revision of its masterplan so that it would become a
high-end tourist destination, with Aklan providing the
low-cost accommodations and
Carabao
Island hosting the casino operations.
Samie
Lim, president of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and
Industry (PCCI), said that even if it is the most famous
destination in the Philippines right now, Boracay will
not be able to achieve the target of attracting 5
million tourists annually due to its size limitation.
“Boracay
must redo its masterplan together with Aklan and Carabao
Island because Boracay, on its own, will not be able to
do it,” Lim, a long-time tourism committee chairman of
the PCCI before he became its president, told the
Businessmirror in a recent interview.
Lim said
the moratorium on developments in the island should
remain until the national government and the local units
there have firmed up strategies on how to address issues
like sewage system and the other facilities.
The
moratorium is being enforced on orders of Environment
Secretary Lito Atienza, citing the continuing
environmental degradation of Boracay owing to unbridled
construction even as the provision of basic
infrastructure, such as for sewerage, is not keeping
apace.
In the
interview, Lim said Boracay as a prime tourist
destination is now like a sinking ship that needs to be
repaired “the sooner the better.”
One
important service that should be established there, Lim
said, is the ferry system to allow the so-called
“backpackers” and mass tourists to get off the island at
night and then stay in cheap rooms in Aklan where they
will clean up and “throw away everything.”
This
way, Lim explained, “They will be able to get the best
of worlds. They can stay in cheap hotels in Aklan and
then go to the white-sand beaches in Boracay in the
morning.”
He said
the ferry system should be like the one in Hong Kong
where the boats come and go every 10 minutes.
Boracay,
on the other hand, will have the hotels’ room rates at
$200 to $1,000 per night.
Nearby
Carabao Island , meanwhile, will be the site for the
casinos.
“Boracay
will always have the finest beach suited for the
high-end class. That is why it is correct to stop all
these construction [work] that will kill Boracay,” Lim
said.
The
moratorium on construction in Boracay, which was done
with the coordination of the environment department and
the local government units there, became controversial
after it affected several projects.
The most
high-profile project affected is the P1.2-billion Crown
Regency Boracay Hotel and Convention Center, envisioned
to become the biggest resort in the island.
It is
now a subject of a court case after the DENR issued a
CDO on its construction. |
