DENR's Cimatu wants Boracay rehab program extended for another year

BORACAY ISLAND, Aklan —Department of Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Roy Cimatu said Friday that he is planning to ask President Rodrigo Duterte to extend the Boracay Island rehabilitation program for another year.

Citing delays in rehabilitation work due to the COVID-19 restrictions, he said he wants to double down on the rehabilitation efforts as several things still need to be done to complete the island resort's restoration.

Cimatu pointed out that rehabilitation efforts have suffered so much delay due to the pandemic. 

EDNR's top man was on Boracay Island to lead the meeting on the continuation of Boracay rehabilitation activities.

He said that the Boracay rehabilitation task force is supposed to end its term this coming May, with still a lot of things to be completed.

Among the projects that Cimatu wants to do is to build housing units in Malay for workers in Boracay.

Also, he said he is planning to clear the island of illegal settlers.

In 2018, President Duterte, in Proclamation No. 475, ordered the temporary closure of the world-famous island resort due to pollution.

In one of his speeches in 2018, Duterte even called Boracay, along with Manila Bay, as a "cesspool."

On 26 April 2018, Boracay was closed for a six-month rehabilitation project. And on 26 October 2018, it reopened to foreign and local tourists.

But the planned rehabilitation efforts were to continue until the end of 2019, months before strict lockdowns were imposed in mid-March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. —with Jun N. Aguirre/LBG, GMA News