the EXPAT NEWSPAPER
By Elga D. Reyes
Campaign to Save Boayan Island Continues
May 17, 2009
Campaign to Save Boayan Island Continues
By Elga D. Reyes
Photos courtesy of Ditchay Roxas
It is no secret that foreigners come to the country in search of a tropical paradise. Many of the 7,100-plus islands are littered with these other nationalities. The untouched beauty provokes a hush-hushed word-of-mouth trail that entices more others, whether locals or non-locals, to come, until it escalates and the island is caught unaware and unprepared. Just like the now world-famous Boracay, up to now, a decade and years later, plagued still with waste management and other problems.
It is also no secret that this summer season has been marked with the early onslaught of rain. Although global warming is said not to be the conclusive cause of this unusual weather pattern, it remains a definitive factor of the world situation. In its global acceptance, environmental awareness has been created. The question now is the execution of this eco-consciousness, down to the individual level. For a Filipina and Frenchman couple, this is no longer a secret.
Ditchay Roxas, daughter of development economist Dr. Sixto Roxas, and husband Philippe Girardeau have known each other for 25 years, of which 13 years have been spent living in Boayan Island. Originally just a vacation home since 1989, providing an escape far from the hectic urban life, it became a permanent home, leased from a family of tax declaration holders. The communion with nature they sought transformed into a passion for protecting the island. And in the 8 months they stay there year in and year out, they have homeschooled their now 17-year old daughter Amelie for 8 years, established a website welcoming some recommended guests for a short, private eco-friendly vacation, and assisted the local community with their own grassroots projects.
But now their simple and peaceful life is being disturbed. The stressful life when she was still a theater actress with the Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA) and he a professional interior photographer, has caught up with them in an unprecedented way. Now their life’s work is facing extinction. The lease they hold is in contention with an endorsement of the local municipal government of San Vicente to the Palawan Cove Development Corp., reportedly in tandem with the Discovery Leisure Co., which owns and operates Discovery Shores in Boracay, among other hotels. This move is part of a full-steam-ahead tourism plan that includes an international airport with a 2.8 km-long runway set for completion by 2010.
Small fish vs. big fish
Yet despite a looming grandiose master plan, Roxas will not give in without a fight. It is not because a luxury resort may be overstepping on her lease, or encroaching on her home, but because she attests to a love for the environment and the rich biodiversity that must be preserved. This has prompted her to establish an online campaign, with a website (www.boayan.org) and a Facebook account, generating awareness and support for a petition to convert Boayan into a marine reserve. As of May 15, there is an accumulation of 1,143 signatures, of which 919 are confirmed; while in the "Save Boayan" Facebook group, members now total to more than 2,4oo. In both lists, there are a number of noticeable names like Sen. Mar Roxas, Sen. Chiz Escudero and Rep. Baham Mitra of Palawan in the said networking site.
Also, she persists with legal contracts ready for a day in court, in spite knowing that new word on the grapevine has San Vicente mayor Antonio Gonzales supposedly wanting her to be declared a persona non grata.
In a major daily, the mayor was quoted to have said, “‘It’s a done deal and their (Roxas’) lease is expiring in a few years.’” The lease and quantity in question actually pertains to three properties, one for three hectares and the other two for four hectares. It is a total of 11 hectares of timberland which all have contracts of 25 + 25 years at the option of the lessee, according to Roxas. At present it leaves them with 27 years.
The prize catch
Even so, Gonzales has affirmed the inclusion of the island into the total tourism blueprint of the municipality. San Vicente, an area on the northwestern side of Palawan, has a total land area of 82, 057 hectares, consisting of a rugged topography among its 8 barangays and 41 sitios. But it is the 14-km white-sand beach in Brgy. New Agutaya that is prime property, touted to be one of the longest in the country. Already it draws an influx of assorted foreigners, with Port Barton in the town proper likewise recognized as a tourist zone. There are also 21 islets facing the China Sea surrounded by sparkling blue waters. Marketed for two peak seasons, summer and surf, there is an enlarged customer base of snorkelers, divers and surfers.
Location-wise, San Vicente is less than 200 kilometers from the capital of Puerto Princesa city, an hour away by speedboat from the Malampaya Sound and Seascape Protected Area, and halfway to the popular El Nido resort.
Thus, tourism potential is clearly evident, a major boost for the local economy reliant on a livelihood of agriculture and seasonal fishing. Based on the Palawan Business, there has been an increase in tourist arrivals in 2007, from 192,254 of 2006 to 209,454. However with regards to the plan, the local government has no mention of estimated tourist numbers once the development is in place.
Fragile balance
It is this attracted crowds that has Roxas worrying. Even if she is not an environmental expert, she tells Expat Newspaper, “…one does not need to be to know that there will be adverse effects on a fragile ecosystem such as that which exists on Boayan. I only speak from the experience of living there.” She adds, “I do not protest the tourism development on long beach or on the mainland of San Vicente where there is a much larger carrying capacity than on the island. San Vicente and Palawan can take it and it will open up other opportunities for some of the people but not all, there will always be the "marginalized" sectors.”
Admittedly, any big tourism development will provide job opportunities
for the residents. But not without repercussions. Affected in particular are
the marginalized small fisherfolk who Roxas was trying to help with eco-tourism
endeavors. It also removes the possibility of a community-based sustainable
eco-tourism program, being proposed when this controversy climaxed. For Roxas,
it could have been complimentary to that of the corporation. She says, “…this
will also help to absorb some of the "marginalized" sectors…This
will add to their dignity and their pride in the environment.”
Property yes, plans no
Of the island, expected to receive the effect of the brunt is Daplac Cove, which is allegedly set to be an upscale resort should Discovery proceed with their expansion. Although when pressed for an answer, the group maintained a stance similarly issued late last year—that a 20-hectare property has been acquired, but there are no plans yet. Daplac Cove or Daplac Bay, the focal point of the campaign or the “edification of a public forest and marine reserve,” is where various wildlife (from the protected Tabon Bird, Palawan hornbills, eagles to monkeys) and highly endangered species (sea turtles and the Philippine cockatoo) remain free to roam.
Another reputed company seen to be investing is A. Soriano Corp. (Anscor), whose subsidiary is Seven Seas Resorts and Leisure Inc. that owns the renowned Amanpulo Resort. But in an exclusive interview with Expat, the company clarifies, “Anscor is not one of the significant investors in San Vicente, Palawan. There are many others which came before [us]. When Anscor was told to take a look at the area, Anscor merely bought a small property.
Incidentally, the peso figure [Php 300M –ed.] quoted in a local newspaper as Anscor's supposed investment is inaccurate. Anscor's land acquisition is much less, in terms of value and land area.” The “small property” is also in the mainland, “far from the said cove area.”
In previous reports though, both Discovery and Anscor have mentioned the required government infrastructure before plans could be made.
Hollow laws
Nevertheless, a marina is already in construction mode, with more to follow suit, from spas, shopping malls to resorts. And while there is a master plan, its implementation and sustainability measures are already filled with doubt. When called for comment, Rep. Antonio Alvarez, former mayor and original proponent of the tourism plan, could not be reached. Atty. Dodie Baldueza, his chief political adviser, can only assuage the absence and lack of information.
The plan collides greatly with the several environmental laws and bodies in existence. First, Palawan is a declared UNESCO Biosphere Reserve since 1997 (part of which is the recognition of being a Game Refuge and Bird Sanctuary since 1967 and a Mangrove Swamp Forest Reserve since 1981). Second, there is Republic Act 7611 or the Strategic Environmental Plan for Palawan Act, a national law for only one province that automatically puts an immense responsibility on the resulting governing body, the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development (PCSD). Among the council’s tasks, “Perform related functions which shall promote the development, conservation, management, protection, and utilization of the natural resources of Palawan.”
The SEP also comes with the Environmentally Critical Areas Network (ECAN), a zoning classification determining the usage of a specific area. But as Roxas points out, “Much of this is ignored or classifications conveniently changed in the name of tourism development.”
Third, the Department of Tourism (DOT) has created a Tourism Master Plan (TMP) with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the World Tourism Organization (WTO) last 1991. Part of its objectives is to position the country as a world-class tourism destination under the sustainable tourism development tenet. And a resulting milestone is the issuance of Executive Order 111 on June 17, 1999, the establishment of the National Ecotourism Development Council (NEDC). The NEDC, alternately headed by DOT and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) every three years, focuses on policy-making while the sub-group National Ecotourism Steering Committee (NESC) is the technical arm that recommends programs.
According to Priscilla Calimag, member of the Ecotourism Technical Working Group (EWTG) and project coordinator of the National Ecotourism Program (NEP) that supplements the National Ecotourism Strategy (NES), they are already working on Phase 2 that concentrates on protected areas. Specifically, these are four national parks, which are supported by New Zealand’s International Aid and Development Agency (NZAID). But right now, she admits, there is no initiative in Palawan.
A personal, social sensitivity
When asked how she developed this ecological sensitivity, Roxas looks back on her childhood, camping with her father, who from hunter and fisherman turned into an environmentalist. Her father’s words serves as her inspiration: “It requires a whole new culture for organizations to think of sustainable development in terms of whole communities in relation to their respective habitats rather than in terms of sector-specialized enterprises and capital projects. It demands a whole new discipline to combine in feasibility appraisals, social and ecological integrated with economic criteria. A new breed of managers must emerge that manages communities towards integral goals where economic efficiency is defined to include social equity and ecological wholeness as integral outputs from the use of resources.”
Lastly, she adds, “Then just experiencing the degradation of the environment and the total disrespect of people towards the earth and our surroundings both here in the provinces and in the city. Especially at the local level where you have one mayor who passes beautiful environmental laws then the next one totally disregards them and passes other ordinances in total contradiction depending on their interests. The LGUs have a lot of power. Much more so than you feel in the city.”
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