By Ronilo Ladrido Pamonag
Thursday, November 13, 2008 [ philstar.com ]
ILOILO CITY – It’s business as usual in Boracay despite tension in some parts of the island due to land disputes.
“The island is big enough for everyone. It’s business as usual in 99 percent of the island,” Department of Tourism director for Western Visayas Edwin Trompeta said yesterday.
Last week, violence erupted when a sheriff of the Kalibo regional trial court, accompanied by about a hundred policemen, implemented a demolition order involving a disputed lot.
Policemen fired warning shots and lobbed tear gas canisters at those barricading the property. Several people where wounded.
At about the same time, security guards hired by a landowner took over the Boracay Sand Castles Resorts from its lessee, Australian Greg Hutchison.
Policemen were deployed to maintain peace and order at the resort, which still remains closed.
Last June, one person died when security guards took possession of a disputed property.
Trompeta brushed aside the incidents, saying they would not affect the local tourism industry.
“These are isolated cases. This is no problem as far as the tourism industry is concerned. It does not and will not affect the movement, safety and convenience of tourists,” he said.
He added that the land disputes involve only the contracting parties, and do not involve nor target the tourists themselves.
The incidents, according to Trompeta, are not so serious as to cause a decline in the number of tourists they are expecting until yearend.
“If ever there is a decline, it would be because of the credit crisis,” he said.
Trompeta admitted though that the recent twin incidents generated a perception of lawlessness on the island.
“There is an image-problem, that there is some kind of lawlessness on the island, which is not actually accurate. There is no systematic breakdown of peace and order,” he said.
The land disputes only show that the stakes involved are high, he said.
“The stakes are high because of the economic value and the potential for economic gain,” he added.
