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Cynthia Villar admits business interests in Boracay


Senator Cynthia Villar admitted Wednesday that her family has business interests in the embattled Boracay in Malay, Aklan but insisted there was no conflict of interest when she opposed the temporary closure of the famous island resort.

“Meron kaming investment,  a very small investment in Boracay but we are in 139 towns and cities in the Philippines, isang magsara na bayan walang effect sa aming kumpanya so I don’t care,” Villar told reporters when asked on the matter.

“I’m not managing our business and I don’t think it will affect our business kahit isara nila ang Boracay and I have done so much for the environment and I am still doing it. Ako nga ang nakipaglaban para ma-maintain yung wetland sa Las Piñas so I don’t think there is conflict of interest here,” she added.

Moreover, she said she made sure that their business interests there do not violate the law before she went to Boracay.

“In fact,  I asked our company kung compliant ba kayo kasi kung 'di kayo compliant I will not go to  Boracay, ipapahiya n’yo pa ako. They are compliant,” she said.

She said Vista Land bought Boracay Sands, located in Station 3, when it was already operational. Villar’s company acquired it in 2016.

“Boracay Sands, but we bought it tapos na ‘yun, its been operating. It’s just a small hotel,” she said.

She said they also has interest in Costa dela Vista.

“‘Yung Costa dela Vista, its owned by another person in venture sa amin so if it’s not legal it doesn’t affect us kasi we don’t own the property.” 

Also, Villar said their acquisition of the properties have been announced publicly and even published in newspapers.

“It has been announced all over the paper when we bought that property. It’s common knowledge and it’s just a small property. They were trying to learn the hotel business lang. It’s a 50-room hotel and if they want to close it, they can close it, it won’t matter to Vista Land,” she added. 

Villar earlier said that only the establishments violating the law should be shut down.

Senators Joel Villanueva, Nancy Binay, Juan Miguel Zubiri, and Loren Legarda also oppose the temporary closure of the island resort.

Interior and Local Government officer-in-charge Eduardo Año and Tourism Secretary Wanda Teo wanted to temporarily close Boracay Island to tourists during the rainy season to allow non-compliant business establishments to comply with environmental laws.

Earlier, President Rodrigo Duterte threatened to shut down Boracay over environmental and sanitation concerns, even calling it as a "cesspool" because some of the establishments' sewer systems there drain straight into the island's waters.

The issue caught the Senate's attention and the chamber's environment panel headed by Villar initiated an inquiry after an conducting an inspection on the island. —LBG, GMA News

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