Letters from Davao: ‘Leaving the Church and revisiting Boracay’ By Jun Ledesma

WE ARE SO enmeshed in the unearthing and concealing the skeletons of the Church (which now includes that of kibitzing Bro. Eddie Villanueva’s JIL) we forgot what’s happening in the cesspool of Boracay.

What is the score? The simple targets which President Duterte wants to be achieved can be weaved in simple questions, thus: 1. Is the 25+5 easement from the shoreline been observed as bases of which establishment has to be demolished? If so how many establishments had been demolished? 2. Is the main road that cuts across the 1,000-hectare Boracay islet widened based on DPWH specs? If so, were there establishments that were demolished? 3. Was there a case or cases filed against local government officials and individuals who converted the national wetlands into commercial establishments? 4. Who profited from the conversion?  

And 5. There are two water concessionaires in Boracay charging rates that appears to be the highest in Asia. Have they established a modicum of a sewerage system or at least a septage treatment plant? 6. Why should Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA) be investing P300-million in sewerage system when this is supposed to be done by the water concessionaires and big hotel establishments? 7. Who set West Cove on fire? There are security details in the area. Why are they so quiet? 8. With millions of domestic and foreign tourists going in and out of Boracay, we could surmise that collections of various fees, among them entry and the use of beachfront as extension of resto establishments, would amount to billions of pesos. Have these been accounted for? Have they any preliminary reports?

Few questions to ask. If there are answers to these then we can rest our case. But as I can see from afar and heard from print and social media, the departments task to do President Dutere’s directive have barely scratch the problems beseting the prime tourist destination in the country - Boracay. So DILG Asec. Epimaco Densing announced he will before the Ombudsman a case of grave neglect of duty against 10 local officials. 

My gosh he even refused to name them! The punishment, if any, will be a tender rap in the knuckles of whoever are the sacrificial animals in this case.  So far no one is held responsible and if the scandals in the Church and in the house of Eddie continue, the cesspool and stinking corruption in the islet of Boracay will just be relegated to the catacombs of oblivion. (Jun Ledesma)