By Tara Yap  Aklan Gov. Florencio Miraflores is against the proposal of San Miguel Corp. (SMC) to build a bridge linking world-famous Boracay Island to mainland of Malay town. Boracay (Tara Yap / MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO) In his State of the Province Address, Miraflores said he told Boracay Inter-Agency Rehabilitation Management Group that he is strongly against the P5.5-billion bridge project. The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) had announced that SMC will soon avail of its original proponent status (OPS) for the proposed Boracay bridge project. SMC’s proposal is also being opposed by environmentalists, who are worried it will defeat the initiative of the Duterte administration in rehabilitating the country’s most popular beach destination that had seen degradation due to unregulated development. When SMC submitted its unsolicited proposal to DPWH last year, it clarified that the 1.2-kilometer bridge will only be used for transportation of goods and not tourists. Instead of a bridge, Miraflores backs the development of integrated port terminals both for Boracay and mainland town. Miraflores said there’s a need to improve facilities in both ports so wooden-hull passenger boats and ferry boats can easily dock during the monsoon season. The boat trips currently go in and out of Tabon Port instead of Caticlan Port in mainland Malay and Tambisan Port instead of Cagban Port in Boracay Island. Meanwhile, Miraflores welcomed the P200-million expansion of the port in neighboring town of Buruanga. The project of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) is designed to decongest the roll-on, roll-off (RORO) port in Malay town.