Online petition launched vs DPWH road plan in Boracay

ILOILO CITY—Several residents and water sports enthusiasts in Boracay are calling on government agencies and officials to stop building a road on parts of the beach in the eastern side of the island.

The residents launched an online petition urging the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Department of Tourism and Aklan officials to stop the construction of the circumferential road on parts of Bulabog beach because the project would affect wind sport activities and tourism in the area.

Bulabog, which is parallel to the white beach on the western side of the 1,032-hectare island, is a favorite site for kite surfing and windsurfing.

It is the only one in the country with world-class schools and centers for wind surfers and kite surfers that attract thousands of students and enthusiasts every year, according to the petition. As of May 10, the petition that was launched on May 6 had 383 signatories.

The project, which will complete the second main road network on the island, will run parallel to the existing main road. It is aimed at easing traffic on the main road which has become a bottleneck due to the number of public and private vehicles using it.

But if the road is not diverted, it will encroach on a 120-meter area at the beachfront in Bulabog, the petitioners said.

Nenette Aguirre-Graf, one of the petitioners, recalled that during the administration of former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, government agencies had agreed to divert the road to pass through the back of lots facing the beach instead of right on the beach.

But Robert Cabigas, DPWH Aklan district engineer, said the department could not divert the road project because some landowners in Bulabog refused to give the right-of-way for the new road to be constructed on portions of their lots.

Cabigas said the project is the third phase of the 2.5-kilometer circumferential road.