By Jun N. Aguirre
The Boracay Inter Agency Task Force (BIATF) is eyeing to help workers in the resort island displaced by the global COVID-19 scare.
Natividad Belarmino, who chairs the Boracay Island Inter Agency Rehabilitation Management Group (BIARMG) a management arm of the BIATF, said that hundreds of workers were already displaced.
This developed after President Rodrigo Duterte announced on March 12, 2020 that Metro Manila will be placed under a community quarantine status lasting for about a month from March 15 to April 14, that temporarily suspended flights to and from Metro Manila.
“Both the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) will be providing assistance to those displaced. The local government of Malay will be in-charge of finalizing the lists,” she said.
“The BIATF will follow the same format of giving assistance to those displaced during the 2018 closure of Boracay. The DSWD will provide financial assistance while the DOLE will provide cash for work programs,” she added.
In a related report, Al Orolfo, vice chair of the BIARMG announced the postponement of the “Love Boracay 2.0” celebrations this year.
“To ensure health and safety of the general public against COVID-19 threats, the BIATF Alternates cancelled the staging of Love Boracay celebrations/events this coming April 26-May 2. Once this epidemic is over, they agreed to hold the event even better as planned at the most appropriate time. We hope the full cooperation of everyone to safeguard the well being of the whole Boracay community. We will keep you informed on new developments related to this,” he said.