Demolition of illegal structures start in Boracay’s Bulabog Beach

ILOILO CITY –– National and local government agencies on Thursday started the demolition of several structures on Boracay Island after a temporary restraining order (TRO) issued by an Aklan court lapsed.

The demolition of 10 structures purportedly violating the 30-meter beach easement along Bulabog Beach in Barangay Balabag started around 9 a.m. and was ongoing as of 10:45 a.m., according to Natividad Bernardino, general manager of the Boracay Inter-Agency Rehabilitation Management Group.

Bernardino said the demolition was based on an order issued on Wednesday by Acting Mayor Frolibar Bautista of Malay town in Aklan.

Judge Ronald Exmundo of the Kalibo, Aklan Regional Trial Court Branch 7 issued on October 15 a 20-day TRO directing the local government of Malay to “cease” from implementing the March 25, 2019, and other demolition orders covering 10 structures along Bulabog Beach, at the eastern side of the island.

Bautista recalled the order but issued a new one on Wednesday.

Bernardino said there was no legal impediment for the implementation of the demolition order.

She said the government was demolishing the structures because the non-removal of the structures “could set a bad precedent” that the removal of illegal structures as part of the ongoing rehabilitation of the island could be stopped.

A 30-member demolition team is targeting to demolish parts of the Aira Hotel, Ventoso Residences, Freestyle Academy Kite Surfing School, Kite Center at Banana Bay, Wind Riders Inn, Pahuwayan Suites, Boracay Gems, Unit 101 of 7 Stones Boracay Suites, Unit 107 of 7 Stones Boracay Suites and Lumbung Residences.

Owners of the 10 residential and commercial structures have filed a civil complaint against the local government of Malay to declare demolition orders as illegal and null and void.

They insisted that they have invested in their properties and put up their structures after they were issued permits and clearances by the government, only to be told later that they violated the easement rule.

“This is a tragedy. My clients are devastated and we do not understand the urgency of the demolition considering that we have a hearing on the case set on November 11,” lawyer Salvador Paolo Panelo Jr, a son and namesake of presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo and legal counsel of the property owners, told the INQUIRER.

“They could have waited for the resolution of the case, but they want to get ahead of the court to make an injunction moot,” he said.

He said that without a TRO, the demolition of the structures was illegal because a court order was required.