Legal trouble in paradise? Boracay lawyer offers help

Lawyer Ari Ben “Butch” Sebastian has put up a sign in front of his house at Barangay Balabag in Boracay offering free legal services to indigent residents while the resort island in Aklan province is closed to tourists.

A few residents have sought his advice, mostly on property – related issues, amid the ongoing demolition of structures and imposition of easement rules while Boracay undergoes a six-month rehabilitation.

The government has barred tourists from the island starting April 26, leaving the country’s leading beach destination unusually quiet.

Sebastian told the Inquirer that while most residents supported the rehabilitation, many were protesting how it was being undertaken but were afraid or intimidated to take legal action.

“Nobody is brave enough to go against the government,” Sebastian said.

Sebastian, 57, has been living in Boracay for three years. He decided to stay on the resort island after decades of law practice in Metro Manila to “escape the traffic” and be close to nature.

Early this week, Sebastian posted on his Facebook account his “personal take” on the situation in Boracay.

He is a counsel for the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry-Boracay but says that his observations are his personal views.

Sebastian talked about what he described as unconstitutional policies being implemented by government agencies as part of rehabilitation activities.

Suffering

Saying he was pained by the suffering of people affected by the island’s closure, Sebastian cited the “unlawful taking/destruction of properties,” a de facto curfew, and violation of liberty to abode and right to travel of residents.

He said the declaration of a state of calamity covering the whole island was supposedly intended to assist residents affected by the closure and ease the impact of the loss of their livelihood and income.

“It is not meant to serve as a cloak of immunity to rationalize or justify wide-scale violations of human rights,” Sebastian said in his post that had been shared at least 1,300 times and earned 311 comments as of Saturday afternoon.

President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the closure of the 1,032-hectare island, with around 47,000 residents, in April after noting its deteriorating environment and water quality. He had called the island a “cesspool” for its environmental problems.

Curfew

The Boracay Security Committee had barred nonresidents and unregistered workers from entering the island.

Boat travel to and from the mainland had been limited to between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m.

“In effect a curfew has been imposed on the island. This is worse than the situation in Mindanao, which is under martial law,” Sebastian said in his post.

He also assailed the policy on limiting swimming and water sports. Only residents were allowed to swim in designated areas on the island from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

“I am at a loss as to the reason for this requirement. Are we so physically dirty that swimming after 5 p.m. will cause environmental damage to the island? Do we relieve ourselves in the water after 5 p.m.?” he asked.

He challenged the legality of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ (DENR) memorandum requiring establishments with 50 rooms and above along the beach to build their own sewage treatment plants (STPs).

“The only legal requirement under the implementing rules of the Clean Water Act is for households and establishments to connect to existing sewerage systems, not install their own STPs. Worse, requiring establishments to install and operate their own STPs is not only expensive. It also goes against existing engineering and environmental best practices worldwide,” he said.

“In fact, this requirement does not exist anywhere else in the country,” he added.

Propose solutions

But an official of the DENR said critics of the rehabilitation of Boracay should recommend solutions to help the government revive the beauty of the island.

“This is my appeal to our critics: why don’t they come up with proposed solutions which we can study and help improve what we are doing for the island?” said Undersecretary Benny Antiporda, deputy spokesperson for the DENR.

Antiporda dismissed accusations that the government had imposed a lockdown on the island and that the Boracay Interagency Task Force (BIATF) had committed abuses by demolishing structures without observing legal processes.

“Most of the demolition being done there are voluntary, meaning the owners themselves [are doing] the dismantling … Had they waited for the government to do the clearing, we would really take out every structure that was illegally built,” he said.

Vocal critics

The vocal critics of Boracay’s rehabilitation, Antiporda said, were either nonresidents or those occupying land illegally.

“Many of these informal settlers were showing mere tax declarations as supposed proof of ownership. So what illegal act did [the] government commit there?” he said.

The curfew hours were imposed only on outsiders and meant to ensure the safety of island residents, he said.

Antiporda said it was unfortunate that “baseless” claims served only as distraction, as the rehabilitation was still in full swing on its fourth month.

“We are well within our target of reopening the island in October. In a few days, we will announce an update on the number of establishments that have been granted permits, by way of the one-stop shops,” he said, referring to the multiagency outposts that the BIATF set up to process applications for business licenses.

Sebastian said he was not operating any business on the island and had previously refrained from commenting on social media about their situation.

Scared

“However, as always, it is the small people who are bearing the brunt of the island’s closure and not the big businessmen who can very well weather the storm. This is what pains me most,” he said.

When asked if he would take legal action, Sebastian said he had already spoken out and it was up to Boracay residents to take the next step.

“Everybody is scared, whether a common resident or a business owner, that Boracay will not reopen on time because this involves their livelihood,” he said.

“I only want an informed conversation on the matter. I believe President Duterte has been misinformed about the problems and situation here,” he said.

Telling the truth

Several Boracay residents and netizens welcomed Sebastian’s post, lauding him for being unafraid to speak out and tell the truth.

“Business operators who are compliant with laws and regulations are being punished. Government agencies are using scare tactics warning that businesses cannot reopen if they will not follow the directives even if these are questionable and unfair,” said a resident, who asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue.

“[Sebastian’s post] expresses the reality and feelings of the local people of Boracay perfectly. Rehabilitation is a mess and particularly local residents and small businesses suffer the most,” an expatriate, who has been living on the island for decades, said in a comment sent to the Inquirer.

“More than three months into the rehabilitation, residents have absolutely no money, are hungry and depend on private donors for food,” the source added.  —WITH A REPORT FROM MELVIN GASCON

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