DENR to restore Boracay wetland recovered from island settlers

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said restoration work would soon begin in one of the nine wetlands on Boracay Island after it was recovered from illegal occupants.

In a statement on Tuesday, the agency said it cleared the 8.5-hectare Wetland No. 6 in Barangay Manoc-Manoc of illegal structures, with its occupants to be relocated to lands awarded to them by the government.

Natividad Bernardino, Boracay Inter-Agency Rehabilitation Management Group general manager, said the development was “hitting two birds with one stone.”

PROTECTED The Department of Environment and Natural Resources, through a billboard, reminds residents and visitors of Boracay about the ecological significance of Wetland No. 6 to the resort island. —LYN RILLON

Rehab stalled

The occupants were 31 families belonging to the Tumandok tribe, who had transferred on Tuesday to lands covered by certificates of land ownership award issued to them by the Department of Agrarian Reform in March.

“This is also a fulfillment on the policy directive of the President to distribute lands to the indigenous peoples and natives of Boracay,” Bernardino said.

Land rows have stalled the rehabilitation of wetlands and forests in Boracay, which has been the subject of the government’s massive rehabilitation plan since 2018.

Nine wetlands found across the island comprise a total of 37.81 ha, with eight in forest lands and one categorized as alienable and disposable.

The DENR’s Biodiversity Management Bureau has reported that 548 structures are encroaching on these ecosystems, which support biodiversity and help minimize flooding by acting as a sponge for excess water.

Park

With the recovery of Wetland No. 6, its restoration will be led by the Lucio Tan-controlled Boracay Tubi System Inc. Four others had been adopted by private companies for rehabilitation and development for a period of three to five years.

In 2019, the DENR recovered Wetland No. 4, which was located in central Boracay. It was converted into a linear park by Aboitiz Equity Ventures.

The rehabilitation of the resort island in Malay town, Aklan province, has long been touted as among the major accomplishments under the Duterte administration.

President Duterte mentioned the rehabilitation efforts during his State of the Nation Address, calling on Congress to pass a law that would create an authority that would oversee projects and programs for Boracay.