16/04/2026
𝗙𝗙𝗙 𝗨𝗣𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗢𝗡 𝗕𝗢𝗥𝗔𝗖𝗔𝗬𝗦 𝗘𝗡𝗩𝗜𝗥𝗢𝗡𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗔𝗟 𝗖𝗢𝗡C𝗘𝗥𝗡𝗦
When Friends of the Flying Foxes was founded in 2004, our vision extended beyond the protection of bats alone. From the very beginning, 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗲 𝗯𝗼𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗹𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝘅𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗱𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗻, including the forested ridges, coastal habitats, and the pristine Puka Shell Beach. These bats play a critical role in maintaining the island’s biodiversity and ecological balance. Thus, 𝗙𝗙𝗙 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗼𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗳𝗹𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝘅𝗲𝘀 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗕𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗮𝘆’𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝘀, 𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗴𝗲 𝗲𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗳 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀—𝘄𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘃𝗲.
Over the years, as we collaborated with wildlife specialists and conservationists, our understanding of Boracay’s ecological uniqueness has deepened. 𝗧𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗼𝗰𝗮𝗰𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝗮𝗳𝗲𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗹𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝘅𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗲𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝘀𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱. We strongly believe that preserving these areas is of national importance, as Boracay’s environmental integrity is the very foundation of its tourism-driven economy. The island’s beauty—from ridge to reef—is sustained by its biodiversity, which continues to attract visitors and generate livelihood opportunities for the entire province.
Following the island’s closure in 2018 for environmental rehabilitation, there was a clear directive to protect Boracay’s forest cover. The forest in Puka Shell has been classified as forest land; however, due to land titling complexities, enforcement has been inconsistent. Currently, new developments—such as the proposed “Boracay Central”—pose renewed threats to critical bat roosting sites. This raises serious concerns, especially when contrasted with past enforcement actions in other forest areas, such as Mt. Luho, where residents faced legal consequences despite having been previously granted permits. Similar issues have affected long-standing local stakeholders, including shell vendors in Puka, who now face legal challenges, while large-scale developments have been granted permits in ecologically sensitive beachfront and wetland areas.
These inconsistencies highlight an urgent need to reaffirm commitments under the 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝗔𝗰𝘁 𝗡𝗼. 𝟵𝟭𝟰𝟳, particularly in protecting habitats of globally threatened species such as the 𝗚𝗼𝗹𝗱𝗲𝗻-𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗹𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝘅 (𝘈𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘰𝘯 𝘫𝘶𝘣𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘴). Historically, Boracay supported more than 10,000 bats. However, due to continuous habitat disturbance, including the clearing of forest ridges in Puka Shell by GOLDEN TW REALITY, daughter company to PAL in 2017, bat populations declined by approximately 97%, leaving only around 40 individuals, in 2019.
We are encouraged to report that conservation efforts have supported a gradual recovery, with the 𝗦𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗜𝘀𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗙𝗹𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗙𝗼𝘅 (𝘗𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘶𝘴 𝘩𝘺𝘱𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘶𝘴) population 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝟯𝟲𝟮 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗱𝘂𝗮𝗹𝘀 based on our most recent count in March 2026. We have also 𝗼𝗯𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗯𝗮𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗿𝗼𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗣𝘂𝗸𝗮 𝗦𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗕𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵, 𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗿𝗼𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆. However, continued disturbances and ongoing development pressures are preventing full re-establishment.
For these reasons, we emphasize the urgent need to protect the forested ridges of Puka Shell Beach and Ilig-Iligan, which serve as critical roosting habitats. These areas represent some of the last remaining beach forest ecosystems on limestone formations in the Philippines—habitats that are both ecologically significant and increasingly rare.
The same concerns also apply to the proposed Boracay bridge by San Miguel Corporation. Beach erosion is an increasing global issue, and we are already witnessing significant changes along Boracay’s shorelines. This makes it all the more critical to protect our marine biodiversity, including the forest cover above them, the coral reefs, seagrass beds, and mangrove ecosystems. The ecological connectivity between these systems is essential in maintaining the island’s pristine beaches and coastal stability.
Any disruption to natural ocean currents caused by bridge construction could have long-term and potentially irreversible impacts on sediment movement, coastal processes, and overall ecosystem health. Additionally, there is a real risk of introducing invasive species to the island, which could further threaten its already fragile biodiversity.
We understand the demand for better transportation for locals and tourists as well as in medical emergencies, but please STOP using the fact of bad transportation and cargo management as an excuse to build a bridge, these concerns should not be used to justify infrastructure that may compromise the long-term environmental sustainability and socio-economic balance of Boracay.
Ultimately, it is these ecological features that sustain Boracay’s global appeal. As such, we strongly believe that protecting the island’s remaining ecosystems—from forests to wetlands to coastal zones—should be treated as a matter of national priority, particularly in light of emerging threats such as large-scale infrastructure development and continued land conversion.
Let’s protect our environment, It's for them, for us, for you! 🦇
