MANILA: Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said he would order the arrest of local government officials and resort owners of Boracay if they refuse to cooperate and protest the government’s ongoing investigation and efforts to rehabilitate the famous island.

Duterte said that local executives and businessmen were responsible for the degradation of Boracay, a day after announcing that he would declare the tourist destination under state of calamity for its worsening sewage problems.

“If they refuse to cooperate and begin to protest, you were responsible for the damage all these years, as well as the local officials who are all nonchalant of the problem there, I will arrest you all,” Duterte said in a speech at the 145th founding anniversary and second Kanlahi Festival in Tarlac City.

“And if you put up a fight I will charge you for sedition, preventing government to do what is good for the Filipino people,” he said.

The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) have launched a probe that would look into the possible accountability of local officials in Boracay, which is under the jurisdiction of Malay town in Aklan, for the environmental degradation of the island.

The agencies were also considering to order a 60-day shutdown of establishments while authorities continue to assess businesses’ possible violations of environmental laws.

Duterte had ordered Interior Officer-in-Charge Secretary Eduardo Año and Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu to fix the problem in six months, saying that the beautiful island has smelled of human waste. - Philippine Daily Inquirer/Asia News Network