DENR suspends demolition in Boracay’s ‘no-build’ zones

Boracay by Jack Jarilla

ILOILO CITY, Iloilo, Philippines — Residents of Boracay Island who have been ordered by the government to demolish their homes on beach easements can breathe easier after the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) suspended the implementation of its directive.

In a recent dialogue between residents of Barangay Manoc-Manoc and the DENR, Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu asked department officials and the Boracay Inter-Agency Rehabilitation Management Group (BIARMG) to hold off the demolition until the temporary shelters where they would be relocated were provided with water and electricity connections.

The DENR would also coordinate with the Department of Agrarian Reform to identify a possible permanent relocation site that could be awarded to island residents under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law.

A second option is to permanently relocate residents to a housing project of the Malay municipal government on the mainland.

In a letter dated Dec. 20 to acting Malay Mayor Frolibar Bautista, BIARMG general manager Natividad Bernardino reiterated her request for the municipal government to waive building and occupancy permit requirements so electricity and water connections in the relocation site can be fast-tracked.

Bernardino said there was also a need to revalidate the number of households affected who needed cash assistance for building materials from the government.

One structure shelters several households and relocation would entail providing one temporary house per family.

Island rehab

The Malay government, since 2018, has been issuing notices to vacate and to demolish structures to occupants and property owners within the 30-meter beach easement and in areas declared as forestland. This is part of the rehabilitation of the island, which was started during the six-month closure of the island to tourists from April 26 to Oct. 25, 2018.

Natives of Boracay and Business Stakeholders Inc. (Nabbsi) earlier sought the suspension of demolition and ejection of occupants of lands declared as government properties, at least until Christmas and until they could be assured of resettlement.

Houses set for demolition or those that had been demolished in Barangay Manoc-Manoc belong to more than 30 families, or more than 100 people, mostly fishermen and workers on the island, according to Nabbsi.

“We are also appealing for a relocation within Boracay only since most of the affected families are either fishermen or working in Boracay. Their livelihood is here, on the island, [and] they have been living here for generations,” according to the letter of the organization sent to government officials.

Several residents and property owners were arrested and slapped with criminal charges since last year for their failure to demolish their properties within no-build zones.