Gov’t battles ‘worst’ Boracay violator

Will government finally prevail against Boracay island paradise’s alleged worst environment wrecker? People will soon find out.

Last week Boracay local officials ordered the closure of West Cove beach resort. The move coincided with a demolition notice from the Dept. of Environment and Natural Resources on West Cove’s illegal constructions.

Municipal officials of Malay, Aklan, which covers Boracay, ordered the shutdown of West Cove for lack of business permit. The DENR demolition edict was due to West Cove’s erection of permanent structures in a forestland it was allowed temporarily to use for tourism.

Actual closure and demolition were stayed, however. West Cove owner Crisostomo Aquino invoked the presence of resort guests to delay the local and national government actions. He said he would demolish the structures himself after the guests leave.

Also last week President Rodrigo Duterte threatened to bomb establishments in the world-famous resort island that persist in ruining nature. His declaration in Feb. that businesses have turned Boracay into a “dysentery cesspool” has spurred government men into activity. The secretaries of the DENR, of local governments, and of tourism proposed last week to close the entire island to tourists for six to 12 months to fix, among others, sewerage and sanitation.

The Malay town hall has been wanting to padlock West Cove since 2009. Pioneer resort owners had complained about its felling of an adjacent mangrove forest. In response, however, then-DENR chief Joselito Atienza legalized the environmental breach by granting West Cove a Forest Land Use Agreement for Tourism.

A FLAgT allows the grantee temporarily to occupy, use, and develop a forestland. But the grant to West Cove of special franchise over 1,000 square meters of forests was far from temporary: it was valid for 25 years, renewable for another 25.

World boxing titlist Manny Pacquiao, not yet a senator then, admitted helping gun dealer-friend Aquino get the permit. He denied being part owner of West Cove, then often referred to as the “Pacquiao resort.” A newspaper report quoted him as saying that Aquino gifts him with a firearm before every fight.

In Sept. 2014 the DENR cancelled the FLAgT due to two main violations. One, the structures built on the 1,000-sqm forestland were concrete, thus permanent. That included the dipping pool over a coral reef and a concrete bridge connecting it to the island. Two, West Cove allegedly encroached on an adjacent 3,500-sqm timberland, a state property.

About that time, the Supreme Court also ruled on the festering court case between West Cove and the Malay municipal officials. The High Tribunal found serious violations: constructions on the no-build zone within 30 meters from the shoreline, on a swampland, and on a slope more than 25 degrees – all naturally without building permits. Due to the absence of construction permits, the municipal hall also withheld occupancy permits.

West Cove continued to operate. It appealed to the Office of the President to restore the FLAgT. At the same time, it accused the municipal officials of ganging up on him in refusing to grant business permits.

Aquino till now claims that government officials are singling him out. When DENR Sec. Roy Cimatu served the demolition order last week, the West Cove owner pointed to nearby establishments that also were violating environment and sanitation laws.

Earlier, Cimatu’s men inspected 578 resorts, hotels, restaurants, malls, and other establishments. Only 383 were found to be connected to Boracay’s water and sewage system. The rest spewed untreated sewage directly into the sea.

None have been issued closure orders. Municipal officials and Western Visayas environment regulators are being blamed for the violations.

Cimatu has yet to name the non-compliant establishments. Discriminating travelers are known to shun pollutive and unsanitary businesses. That includes those with untreated drinking water, stinky kitchens, untrained food handlers, and without septic vaults or air purifiers.

To prove that the seawater fronting his resort is clean, Aquino had himself videoed gargling it. In contrast, green slime mars the white sand beaches elsewhere in the island, allegedly due to high fecal coliform levels.

Duterte’s threat to bomb pollutive establishments seemed serious. His spokesman Harry Roque amplified: “The last I heard is that the local government may even ask the President for assistance to call in the Marines if need be. So when I heard that report, I told them, ‘Send the letter because I’m sure the President will not hesitate to send in the Marines and even use dynamite to blow up the illegal structures there’.”

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