Senator Cynthia Villar, chairperson of the committee on environment and natural resources, has expressed satisfaction over the rehabilitation of Boracay Island.
Villar recently administered the oath of re-elected Iloilo City councilors Ed Peñaredondo, Candice Tupas, Lyndon Acap, and Mandrie Malabor; re-elected Iloilo Vice Governor Christine Garin; and several elected members of Iloilo province’s Sangguniang Panlalawigan (Provincial Board), among them Val Serag, Rolito Cajilig, Rolando Distura, Domingo Oso Jr., Carol-V Espinosa, and Darl Tupas.
On the sidelines of her visit, the seasoned legislator said she is satisfied with the rehabilitation efforts of the Boracay Inter-Agency Task Force (BIATF).
Executive Order 53, series of 2018 created the BIATF composed of the departments of environment, tourism, and local government, among others, to manage Boracay’s rehabilitation until April 2020.
“We wanted to see (the performance of the BIATF) from start to finish, but so far, so good,” the veteran lawmaker said in a press conference in Cabatuan, Iloilo.
The lady senator noted that the island resort has now become particular about the processing of wastewater.
“The island has now become particular about the processing of wastewater.”
“If you are a commercial institution, you have to have an STP (sewage treatment plant) to process wastewater, which was not being done then completely,” she said.
Villar particularly cited the rehabilitation efforts at the beachfront, and the widening of roads and sidewalks, as well as the circumferential road.
“They had organized those institutions facing the ocean, and then at the back, the road was widened. The sidewalks were also widened and trees were planted. It’s much, much better. I think they will continue doing that until they finish the circumferential road of Boracay that people can go and reach the same place,” she said.
“The sidewalks were also widened and trees were planted. It’s much, much better.”
Villar said she believes that the island’s wetlands will also continue to be protected.
“There should not be any resident or commercial establishment there because those are inalienable land and they will remain as forest land or wetland,” she said.