Boracay hotel demolished for road project

MANILA, Philippines — The management of a hotel in Boracay has agreed to demolish its property to pave the way for the completion of a road network project, according to Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu.

“We could have destroyed it earlier, but we gave them due process. Now, we can complete the road network and close the main road so that the Department of Public Works and Highways can finish everything they need to do for road widening,” Cimatu, who visited the island over the weekend, said yesterday.  

The demolition of the 12-room Stellar Hotel Boracay along Bulabog beach, which sits on a circumferential road under construction, was set to start yesterday.

Cimatu clarified that the easement rule also applies to the upper floors of establishments to give way to electric posts and power lines to be installed or erected during road widening.

He also stressed the need to remove illegal settlers in Boracay’s wetlands.

“We do not only need to clean the wetlands to sustain the water quality on the beach. We also need to restore their functions as natural filters and water reservoirs,” he said.