[ Manila Bulletin Online ] August 10, 2008
By BOY RYAN B. ZABAL
KALIBO, Aklan – Publishers Association of the Philippines (PAPI) president Juan P. Dayang urged the Aklan media to spearhead the Boracay summit amid the opposition of some resort owners of House Bill 1109 of Rep. Florencio Miraflores.
Dayang said Boracay has brought in investors who built world-class facilities, creating jobs and providing a steady stream of income to residents not only in Aklan, but even to those in neighboring Panay Island provinces of Antique, Capiz and Iloilo .
"Boracay has not only projected the Philippines to the global map of tourism, but also generated precious foreign exchange earnings for the national economy.
For sure, the stakeholders in the island are equally concerned as the practicing journalists in bailing out the island resort from its sinking image abroad," he stressed.
Former representative Allen Quimpo and former Aklan Vice Governor Ronquillo Tolentino also joined the call for a Boracay summit among the business groups like Boracay Foundation, Inc. (BFI) and Boracay Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI).
Dayang, president emeritus of Aklan Press Club, said the summit will enlighten the controversial issue on land titling on stakeholders and residents of the island affected by HB 1109.
The media summit is also viewed as a confidence-building measure to hammer out a general consensus and avert conflicts that do more harm than good to Boracay, the crown jewel of the tourism industry,
"Though lately the land disputes appear the most sensational, they only aggravate increasing incidents of crime, shooting, drug peddling and other peace and order-related problems affecting Boracay," Dayang said.
He added that other constraints facing the island resort include solid waste disposal, transportation, urban planning, land use and poverty.
