Boracay tourism to be limited to beach areas, says DAR chief

Tourism activities in Boracay will be limited to beach areas amid the government's plan to subject the resort-island to land reform and redistribution to farmers, Agrarian Reform Secretary John Castriciones said Tuesday.

"We would still maintain Boracay as a tourist destination but we would probably limit it in the areas which are near the beaches because apparently those are the areas where tourists... are more interested," Castriciones said in an interview on ANC.

"You can make Boracay a land reform area without sacrificing tourism," the Agrarian Reform chief said.

On May 30, President Rodrigo Duterte reiterated that he plans to place Boracay Island under a land reform program.

Data released by the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) showed 408.5113 hectares of agricultural land out of the 1,006.64 hectares of the total land area of the Boracay may be covered by land reform.

Castriciones said it would take some time to recover and redistribute some lands "because we see some resistance because of the investments they made there, because they will probably bring it to the courts."

Boracay was ordered closed for a six-month rehabilitation on April 27, after Duterte described the popular tourist destination a "cesspool." — Ted Cordero/BM, GMA News