Supreme Court asked to stop Boracay shutdown

MANILA, Philippines — A day before a six-month closure of Boracay Island, petitioners have asked the Supreme Court to stop President Rodrigo Duterte’s order to shut down the tourist destination.

Represented by the National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL), two workers of the island and a tourist have challenged the constitutionality of Duterte’s closure order, through a petition for prohibition and mandamus.

It must be noted, however, that the government has yet to issue a written order to close the island down. 

Petitioners asked the high tribunal to issue a halt order or a temporary restraining order on Duterte’s spoken order, which was announced on April 4.

Named as respondents are Duterte, Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea and Interior and Local Government Officer-in-Charge Eduardo Año.

Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said Wednesday afternoon that the Palace "[sees] absolutely no merit for any private party to restraint [sic] the closure of Boracay to tourists given that [the] SC itself has previously ruled that Boracay is owned primarily by the state."

He said the Palace sees "no reason how private persons can allege and prove irreparable injuries, a prerequisite for TRO, given that their stay in the island is by mere tolerance of the state."

He said that absent a TRO, the closure will push through.

Violation of rights

The petitioners have accused the government of “patent abuse of power and reckless disregard of the law.”

The petitioners said that the closure of the island restricts the liberty of all tourists and non-residents. Those working in the island, meanwhile, will be deprived of their livelihood.

 “Even Boracay residents who would be allowed to remain thereon would be adversely affected. Tourism drives the economy of the entire island, and without it, the people who live and work there lose their source of income,” they said.

Duterte ordered the shutdown of the island to rehabilitate it, as he claimed that it has become a “cesspool” over the years. Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said that the president also wants local government units to be held accountable for the environmental damage the island has sustained.

The petitioners, however, raised that the shutdown order is a “sweeping governmental measure that curtails the rights of persons who have not been found guilty of such violations.”

They noted that the barring tourists and non-residents from travelling to Boracay will divest island workers and prevent non-residents to earn their income.

“All told, the impending closure on April 26, 2018 is a glaringly disproportionate response in relation to the objectives sought to be attained,” the petitioners added.

No executive order yet

The petitioners noted that the government has yet to put into a written order the closure of Boracay.

They noted that the members of the NUPL have asked the Department of Interior and Local Government, Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Department of Tourism for any written order on the closure, but none was provided to them.

Roque on Tuesday downplayed the absence of an EO, which will serve as the legal basis of the closure.

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