ILOILO CITY –– The Boracay Inter-Agency Task Force (BIATF) will ask President Duterte to extend its term for another year.
In a virtual press conference after a meeting of the BIATF in Boracay on Thursday, Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu, BIATF chair, said the extension is necessary because the bill creating the Boracay Island Development Authority (Bida) is still pending in Congress.
The BIATF was formed to supervise the island’s rehabilitation when it was closed to tourists from April 26 to Oct. 2, 2018.
Its term was supposed to end on May 8, 2020, but the President extended it for another year or until May this year.
Bida is intended to replace the BIATF as a permanent body to ensure the island’s sustainable development.