The Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) urged the public to “stay vigilant on the possible construction of any private structures on the island, particularly the planned construction of an integrated casino-resort by a Macau-based developer Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd. together with its local partner Leisure and Resorts World Corp. (LRWC).”
In a statement, the group lamented the failure of the departments of tourism, environment and interior and local governments to submit a report on the progress of Boracay rehabilitation, a month now after it was closed to tourists amid reports of environmental degradation.
“We deserve to know the status of the rehabilitation so that we could be assured that what is supposed to be done there is being done,” the group said.
This, even as the group also urged livelihood assistance for over 30,000 direct and indirect workers displaced by the closure of Boracay to tourists.
“We urge Pres. Duterte to immediately extend economic assistance and livelihood to the affected workers now languishing amid the supposed six-month closure of the island,” the statement also said.
Pamalakaya also stressed that “we will stay on guard on the imminent transformation of our tourist island into a mere gambling island that will only benefit foreign and giant businesses at the expense of our patrimonial rights.”
