Duterte, Cabinet to tackle details of Boracay rehabilitation

Proposals on how to clean up and rehabilitate Boracay Island may finally be discussed when President Rodrigo Duterte meets with his Cabinet on Wednesday, according to Malacañang.

Senior Deputy Executive Secretary Menardo Guevarra said the interagency task force had submitted a detailed justification for its suggestion to shut down the island for six months.

The task force is made up of the Department of Tourism, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, and Department of the Interior and Local Government.

The Department of Trade and Industry, for its part, proposed that the closure be done in phases instead for the sake of workers and businesses on the island.

“There’s a Cabinet meeting. The final action on Boracay may be taken up there,” Guevarra said.

On Monday, he said the Palace had asked the task force to elaborate on its proposal for a six-month total closure of Boracay, since it initially sent a two-paragraph recommendation.

Malacañang has received the new report, Guevarra said on Tuesday.

The Office of the President will study the different proposals on Boracay and will make its own recommendation to Mr. Duterte.

The President has ordered the cleanup of the resort island after describing it as a cesspool due to the lack of proper sewage facilities.

A temporary closure of Boracay will have a minimal impact on the economy, according to the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda).

Neda Director Reynaldo R. Cancio said on Tuesday that a six-month closure of the island would reduce GDP (gross domestic product) growth at the most by 0.1 percentage point.

Neda Undersecretary Rosemarie Edillon nonetheless said the government would ensure that the welfare of small businesses and their workers was protected.

Edillon called on local government units to coordinate closely with the Department of Tourism for possible placement of the workers in nearby establishments not affected by the closure.