INTER-AGENCY TASK FORCE ADOPTS BORACAY ACTION PLAN

MANILA – The Boracay Inter-Agency Task Force adopted the Medium-Term Boracay Action Plan (BAP) on December 21, 2018, formally laying out proposed programs for the island’s rehabilitation.

The BAP will install safeguards from ecological degradation and sustain tourism activities in Boracay. These programs and activities will be implemented following Boracay’s six-month closure period, which took place from April to October 2018.

“It primarily provides the strategic interventions to ensure the island’s rehabilitation over the medium term and sustainable management over the long term,” National Economic and Development Authority Undersecretary Adoracion M. Navarro said.

The Plan embodies the stakeholders’ vision of a “secure and globally-competitive world-class tourism destination with a vibrant, productive and climate-resilient economy that is geared toward inclusive growth and anchored on the sustainable development of its innate natural resources.”

Moreover, the Plan has four thematic areas, namely: enforcement of laws and regulations, pollution control and prevention, rehabilitation and recovery of the ecosystem, and sustainability of island activities.

The proposed estimated total investment requirement for the Plan is PhP25.27 billion for all thematic areas. Notably, a total of Ph16.21 billion (64% of the total) will be allotted for infrastructure.

The indicative number of programs, projects, and activities combined under all the thematic areas is 233. The private sector will finance PhP15.89 billion or 62.9 percent of the total cost.

Created by Executive Order (EO) No. 53 s. 2018, the interagency task force is tasked to formulate an action plan that serves as a guide for Boracay Island’s rehabilitation.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), the lead agency heading the task force, designated NEDA to lead the Boracay Action Plan Committee.

NEDA has organized several regional and national level meetings to ensure that key interventions from both government and private organizations are incorporated into the BAP.

Consistent with EO 53, the BAP will be submitted “for approval of the President upon the recommendation of the Cabinet.”

Once approved by the President, the BAP will be implemented until 2022.