Boracay forestland is not for sale – DENR
ILOILO CITY — The Department of Environmental and Natural Resources (DENR) has declared that a particular forestland property on world-renowned Boracay Island in Malay, Aklan province – the subject of controversy following reports that it’s supposed owners are about to sell it to a foreign entity – is not for sale.
Those concerned with the fragile ecosystem of Boracay Island have raised a howl over reports that an Iloilo-based foundation named Taytay sa Kauswagan (Bridge to Prosperity) intends to sell a 17-hectare piece of valuable forestland on Puka Beach – perhaps the last spot virtually left pristine on this once paradisiacal island. It is not clear how the foundation, said to be engaged in micro-financing assistance for small entrepreneurs, have come to own such an extremely valuable piece of property on Boracay or whether its papers from the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) allows it to buy and sell property for profit.
“It was a false alarm,” said DENR-6 Regional Director Jim Sampulna when Manila Bulletin asked him to comment on reports that Taytay sa Kauswagan has struck a deal to sell the Puka Beach property to a Taiwanese developer for allegedly 1.7 billion.
Such reports have reached social media sites like Facebook (FB) with FB community group Last Stand for Paradise launching an online petition, asking for help from American film actor celebrity Leonardo DiCaprio, a known environmental advocate, to prevent the sale of the property for commercial consumption.
Instead of the Taiwanese developer, the group is asking DiCaprio to have his foundation purchase the forestland property for preservation purposes.
Last July, the American actor and environmentalist’s Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation (LDF) raised $40 million to protect endangered species and help preserve the environment at its second annual fundraising gala in St. Tropez, France Earlier, to further his commitment, the LDF also announced that it would be giving a total of $15 million in grants to over 30 environmental organizations working to preserve and protect the future of the planet.
The projects include “concrete solutions to protecting key species and threatened marine and terrestrial ecosystems, to empowering indigenous communities to be long-term stewards and protectors of their natural resources,” according to the foundation. Since 2010, DiCaprio’s foundation has funded over 70 high-impact projects in more than 40 countries worldwide.
Meanwhile, Sampulna, citing a DENR-Aklan report said the 17-hectare forestland is private property owned by Boracay Property Holdings, Inc. (BPHI) which is allegedly a sisterfirm of Taytay sa Kauswagan. Observers here say that while the foundation cannot engage in for-profit business transactions, its sister firm, BPHI, could.
Julia Lervik, who represents an environmental group Friends of the Flying Foxes said she believes that BPHI is “trying to sell the property.”
Lervik’s group has been in the forefront in efforts to preserve forestland on Puka Beach, which is home to a species of bats called “flying foxes.” Lervik points out that the bats are an important part of the precious natural ecosystem of Boracay.
She says that the land issue is only “the tip of the iceberg” among other major issues confronting Boracay.
The bigger issue, Lervik stressed, is how government, particularly DENR, can implement Republic Act No. 9147 or the Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act of 200.
Lervik points out that the government must be in the forefront of maintaining a balanced ecosystem and not sacrifice fragile Boracay Island for further commercial tourism development.