THE Sangguniang Bayan (SB) of Malay on Friday voted to adopt the proposed Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program of PetroWind Energy Inc., which wants to expand its wind-farm project, that many businesses and locals view will affect Boracay Island’s main water source.
Nabas wind farm in the Municipality of Nabas in the province of Aklan. The resort island of Boracay is located 2 km from the north-westernmost tip of the town.
Four of the SB members voted for the adoption of the municipal unit’s resolution endorsing the CSR project versus four against it; Vice Mayor Niño Cawaling broke the tie by voting in favor of the resolution. Locals opposed to the PetroWind project see this as a tacit approval of the project itself, despite some SB members proclaiming the municipal government had yet to endorse the project.
The island was closed for six months in 2018 to give way to its environmental rehabilitation and construction of vital infrastructure projects, and was later heralded as a model of sustainability. Over 2 million tourists, mostly domestic travelers, visited Boracay last year, 15 percent higher than the arrivals in 2019. The island remains one of the key generators of tourism receipts in the country, reaching close to P50 billion in 2019.
Long-time environmentalist and former Malay Councilor Nenette-Aguirre Graf pointed out, however, “That P10-million EGF is nothing if the machines of the water utilities are damaged. We proposed during a consultation meeting last month that if PetroWind is really serious, they should post a P1-P5-billion bond to safeguard the environment.