Villar: Boracay closure won’t affect family-owned hotel

said the recommendation of not totally closing down the entire Boracay island was a consensus of senators and not in any way connected with her family owning a property at the world-famous tourist destination.

Villar, the chairman of the Sen- ate Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, earlier called for the closure of establishments in Boracay that allegedly violate environmental laws instead of shutting the island down for two- months to allow the businesses to comply with the law.

“We reached a consensus that it is really not fair to close all the establishments in the area, but only those [that] violated the rules or should be penalized and the compliant ones rewarded,” she said.

interest on the issue considering that her family owns a property in Boracay.

Villar admitted to the ownership but insisted that it does not in any way affect her role in the Senate inquiry into Boracay.

She was referring to the 50-room Boracay Sands Hotel in Station 3 that was bought by Vista Land & Lifescapes Inc. in 2016.

senator Manuel Villar, is the chairman of the company.

“It was never a secret that we have a property in Boracay, even my fellow senators know about it. part of the management of our business,” she said.

Closure or non- closure of Boracay, according to Villar, will not have an effect on Vista Land, which has projects in over 136 towns and cities all over the country.

concerned about the state of the wetlands on the island than her family’s business.