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New bill on Boracay Island regulatory authority opposed

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Image credits: Stella Arnaldo

AKLANONS, especially those from the municipality of Malay and the island of Boracay, are opposing the new substitute bill creating the Boracay Island Development Authority (Bida).

The still unnamed bill, which substitutes and consolidates with 10 other similar legislations, has morphed Bida into a new government-owned and -controlled corporation (GOCC), similar to the Bases Conversion Development Authority (BCDA). The bill was discussed on Saturday in a forum set by the Malay Sangguniang Bayan between local government officials and private stakeholders of Aklan and Malay.

The substitute bill, which has over 100 coauthors to date, not only will “manage, develop, preserve, and rehabilitate” Boracay Island, the country’s crown jewel of tourism; it also gives Bida control over Barangay Caticlan, the municipality of Malay, “and the entire area occupied by the airport, which extends to the municipality of Nabas.” It also gives Bida the power to “contract, lease, buy, sell, acquire, own or dispose movable and immovable, as well as personal and real property of whatever nature, including shares.”

After the forum, close to 25 Malay, and Boracay Island multisectoral associations, signed up to oppose the substitute bill, and are appealing to lawmakers to revert Bida to an earlier-envisioned regulatory authority.

Prior to its closure for six months in 2018, Boracay attracted over 2 million visitors who contributed P56.14 billion to the Philippine economy.

‘Unconstitutional’

“It’s very clear that this [substitute bill] is a violation of the Constitution and the Local Government Code,” said Aklan Gov. Florencio Miraflores during the forum. He added, “No consultations were made” between lawmakers and those who will be affected if the bill is passed.

He underscored, like the other local officials who attended the forum, that they “supported the creation of a Bida as an authority,” which will have the same functions of the Boracay Inter-Agency Task Force (BIATF), that of overseeing the management of the island and its resources. In his last State of the Nation Address, President Duterte urged lawmakers to set the creation of Bida as a priority measure.

Duterte created the BIATF, led by the Secretary of Environment and cochaired by the Secretaries of the Interior and Local Government and of Tourism, to rehabilitate Boracay Island, implement existing laws on easement and environmental protection, and construct much needed infrastructure. Its term is set to expire on May 2021.

Environment Secretary Roy A. Cimatu has said BIATF’s work is “on track” to be completed by May 2021, although the DOT’s own unit, the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority, is scheduled to complete its much-delayed drainage project by the end of the year.

‘Vast taxation powers’

It was pointed out during the forum that as a GOCC, the Bida will be given  the “vast powers of taxation and regulation that comprise an LGU,” depriving Malay a huge chunk of tax revenues needed for their sustained operations and projects. Under the substitute bill, “All local taxes and national taxes shall be imposed on business establishments operating and registered with the Authority; Real estate taxes shall remain with the government of Malay.” The municipal treasury office has reported that 98 percent of its revenues come from Boracay Island in terms of regulatory fees, business taxes, and real property taxes.

In a presentation by Aklan provincial board member Jay Tejada to the forum, he noted that there are already existing laws that cover the powers given to the Bida in terms of the issuance of business licenses and permits, which he pointed out  is an authority given to the Sangguniang Bayan as per Republic Act 7160, the Local Government Code (LGC). He added that the 1987 Philippine Constitution also respects the local authority’s responsibility to impose taxes, and in cases of conflicts between Bida and LGUs, the LGC always favors the local authority.

“In Bida, the only ‘bida’ (protagonist) is Bida. It creates a new LGU,” he stressed.

Local officials are looking to submit a position paper with House lawmakers and discuss their own thoughts about Bida, before the substitute bill is submitted to plenary in March.

Read full article on BusinessMirror

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