BORACAY ISLAND, Aklan — Members of the House Committee on Natural Resources will push for the passage of a bill to create the Boracay Island Development Authority (BIDA) before the end of the 17th Congress.
Cebu City 2nd District Rep. Rodrigo Abellanosa, chairperson of the committee, on Friday said they will aim to pass the bill creating the development authority to manage the island after the rehabilitation period.
Boracay is set for its soft opening on October 26.
Abellanosa, in an interview after the public hearing here, said while the inter-agency task force for Boracay rehabilitation has created new policies for the island, it needs a body to enforce it.
“We hope we could pass the bill, otherwise we will continue whoever will still be there on the next Congress,” he said.
He added the recommendation of the task force will also be considered.
“We will be including the (Boracay) task force to give their recommendation on what should be included in the creation of Boracay island development authority or management council,” he said.
During the public hearing, a motion to file a bill on the creation of the BIDA was also approved by the members of the committee.
Meanwhile, a pending Senate bill authored by Senator Franklin Drilon is likewise pushing for the creation of the body to manage the island.
The public hearing was attended by the members of the Boracay task force including Secretaries Roy Cimatu of Environment, Eduardo Año of Interior and Local Government, and Virginia Orogo of Social Welfare and Development, Undersecretary Lorraine Badoy of the Presidential Communications Operations Office as well as other key officials from the Department of Tourism and the Department of Public Works and Highways, among others. (Karen Bermejo/PNA)
