Send in the Marines!

Friends in Boracay certainly have cause for concern once the closure of Boracay takes place, but do they really have a choice faced with the often proven political will of President Rodrigo Duterte? I learned from a very informed source at the Palace that the closure will be for six months, expected to take place or to be announced within weeks, and the implementation and rehabilitation of Boracay Island will take place under a declaration of a state of calamity or something similar. The primary intention is to build the sewage treatment system, widen the roads, and demolish the illegal structures such as a hotel that was illegally built on what is officially classified as “wetlands” which serves as catch basin for rain water and residence for wildlife.

The good part is that the trinity in charge of the closure and rehabilitation of Boracay Island is a well-balanced combination of personalities. Secretary Roy Cimatu of the DENR is viewed as very conservative and cautious about Boracay, Secretary Eduardo Año at the DILG is an action-oriented officer in attack mode, eager to tear down and demolish what is illegal and destructive in Boracay, while Secretary Wanda Teo is intent on minimizing the negative impact on business, protective of Tourism and making sure that the rehabilitation is over and done with in the shortest possible time.

There is of course the presumption that big money is or will be channeled through public relations firms and lobbyists to get certain Senators, Congressmen and media personalities to block, postpone or redesign the approach on the schedule and rehabilitation of Boracay Island. If push ever comes to shove, I humbly suggest to Secretary Cimatu and Secretary Año to simply “Send in the Marines!”

Many of us have heard or at some point used the statement: “Give it a rest , will you!” Often it is out of exasperation or simply because the argument or nagging has become tiring, pointless or is about to make us ballistic or violent. In the last two weeks, the same thoughts have been expressed about the excessive commercialization and environmental damage that have been done to Boracay Island – the jewel turned into a “cesspool.”

As the debate over the coming closure of Boracay Island escalates, people seem to forget that many things in life require rest, renovation or restoration. That’s the reason why we have annual medical check-ups, why we need R&R or rest and recreation to revitalize. Our vehicles undergo parts replacements and servicing based on mileage or age.

For nearly a year, my wife and I have slowly been repairing or renovating parts of our home which is now 17 years old. The serious part has been fixing electrical wirings and corroded outlets, clogged or calcified water pipes, and yes getting our septic tank sucked clean by the ever-reliable Manila Water. Even the cosmetic part of repainting, laying brick façade on a small area took a lot of time and some amount of money. We either fix the house or end up dealing with burst pipes, electrical fires, leaky roofs and lose value on an “investment.”

Not many people realize that God who RESTED on the seventh day actually laid down a rule for the businessmen in those days. Back then the principal business was farming. So imagine how those people must have felt when God said on two occasions:

“Six years you shall sow your land and gather in its produce, but the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, that the poor of your people may eat; and what they leave, the beasts of the field may eat. In like manner you shall do with your vineyard and your olive grove. Six days you shall do work, and on the seventh day you shall rest, that your ox and your donkey may rest, and the son of your female servant and the stranger may be refreshed. – Exodus 23:10-13

For emphasis, God repeated the same set of instructions some time later:

“When you come into the land which I give you, then the land shall keep a Sabbath to the Lord. Six years you shall sow your field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard and gather its fruit; but in the seventh year there shall be a Sabbath of solemn rest for the land, a Sabbath dedicated to the Lord.

Translation: Give it a rest – let nature take its course – the land will produce on its own – I got you covered – and you will be provided. (All on the condition that you believe, trust and honor God and not yourself.)

I was once a doubting Thomas about giving the land a rest, but I met an Englishman who migrated to Puerto Princesa, Palawan and became a “magsasaka” planting rice. Imagine seeing a white man working the field with a black carabao. It was so striking that I simply had to get acquainted and that was when he shared the results of “giving it a rest.” He divided his land into four parcels and every year one parcel would be kept fallow. During harvest he would gather all the rice straws and rice hull produced after harvest time and he would mix the material into that one parcel of land and leave the place untouched. He applied the concept of “give it a rest” alongside composting. What happened was he produced three times more rice per hectare than his Filipino neighbors did.

We may no longer be a one-industry society, but the concept of “rest” or “sabbath” is something we all seek after. The thing is it also applies to the things that give us life, particularly nature. Please give it a rest.