President Duterte wants to conduct a review of the land titles given to select individuals in Boracay a few months after he ordered the closure of the island. Laura David, a physical oceanographer and professor at the University of the Philippines Marine Science Institute, raised concerns over the potential impact of the government’s plan to convert 845 hectares of the island for agriculture, saying converting existing forests and wetlands with the dominantly practiced monocrop planting system would only aggravate the critical condition of a small island ecosystem such as Boracay. Duterte said the government should be allowed to rehabilitate the area and to implement reforms despite the losses brought about by the closure order.

Mendez, C., & Villanueva, R. (2018, June 22). Philippine Star, p. 10.