BORACAY ISLAND, Aklan, Philippines -- Learn from the mistakes of the past, Tourism Secretary Joseph "Ace" Durano told participants of the workshop on the Boracay Island Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP) on Thursday.
Speaking during the daylong workshop, Durano told Boracay residents, resort owners and other stakeholders to address the pressing problems faced by the island-resort through the lessons from the past.
"If everybody can comply with (rules and guidelines), there is no need for government to come here," he said.
Durano pointed at the need for unity and commitment to preserve the environment and resources among the stakeholders on Boracay.
"We must make sure that we won't do this (planning) again," said Durano.
The workshop, attended by around 150 representatives of government agencies, resort owners and community leaders, aims to come up with a CLUP that will serve as a basis for all development plans on the island.
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources earlier drafted an environmental master plan amid continued concerns over the sustainability of the island's tourism industry due to years of unregulated development.
The CLUP would identify and designate areas by specific use on the 1,086-hectare island as well as identify infrastructure and capacity needed for particular areas, said Durano.
"This will be a foundation and basis for all other development plans," he said.
The initial draft of the proposed Boracay CLUP, which would cost around P5 million, would be available by the end of April while the final output would be presented to the stakeholders by May.
Aklan Representative Florencio Miraflores said the CLUP was long overdue.
"We should have done this (CLUP) this many, many years before. But let us not point fingers now," Miraflores said.
Miraflores called the CLUP "the last chance that we have for preserving this island."
Durano said the CLUP would hopefully restore order on the island. He pointed out that only 30 percent of the island's area have been developed because structures were concentrated at the beach front and in the village of Balabag, one of the three villages of the island.
He also stressed the urgency of the CLUP as the construction of 1,800 hotel rooms has been going on, because these projects were approved before the moratorium was enforced starting January this year.
"The first thing that we really need to do is to merge ideas for a unified, practical and sustainable vision for the island. Join us in this process with an open mind and, most importantly, with motivation for our common interest for a sustainable growth and development," said Durano.
Some resort owners, while welcoming the drafting of a CLUP, expressed concerns that the plans would not be implemented properly.
Durano said the success of the CLUP would depend on the response of institutions on the island.
