Hours before closure, Boracay Mayor says aid for 7,000 displaced families still being processed 

Starting tomorrow, the Philippines’ Boracay island will be closed to all tourists following a controversial decision by the government to shut down the popular destination for 6 months.

But today, hours before the closure starts, Boracay’s mayor said that cash assistance for the thousands of families that will be displaced have not yet been finalized.

“We are preparing the supplemental budget, which I will submit to the council for approval,” Mayor Ciceron Cawaling of Malay town, which has jurisdiction over Boracay, said in Filipino to ABS-CBN News.

During the closure, the government plans to solve Boracay’s longstanding environmental problems by demolishing establishments and homes built in restricted areas like wetlands, as well as ones that are too close to the shoreline or don’t follow the prescribed easement zone.

Residents agree that these problems should be addressed but they are also worried about losing their homes and jobs.

According to ABS-CBN News, 7,000 families illegally occupying wetlands and forestlands are depending on the cash assistance — which could be anywhere from PHP5,000 (US$95.58) to PHP10,000 (US$191.16) — that is still being processed.

Cawaling said the local government is still “finalizing details” of the aid with the social welfare and labor departments.

In a last-minute effort to stop the closure, Boracay workers, represented by the National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL), filed a petition earlier today asking the Supreme Court to allow tourists to enter while the island is being rehabilitated.

“Even if they are residents of Boracay, if no tourists could come in, it would be detrimental to their livelihood. Our position is that the right to earn a living in Boracay is a property right protected by due process,” Angelo Karlo Guillen of the NUPL said.

However, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque was quick to shut this down, saying that the high court had already ruled in 2008 that Boracay is state-owned.

“We see no reason how private persons can allege and prove irreparable injuries, a prerequisite for TRO (temporary restraining order), given that their stay in the island is by mere tolerance of the State,” he said.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte ordered Boracay’s closure last month, following a proposal from departments of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Tourism (DOT), and Interior and Local Government (DILG).