Crackdown on businesses encroaching on Boracay beach continues

Boracay

The Boracay Inter-agency Task Force has ordered 10 establishments to demolish structures for operating without necessary permits and encroaching on the beachfront.

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The establishments are Steve’s Cliff/Boracay Terraces Resort, Willy’s Rock Resort, Boracay Plaza Resort, Little Prairie Inn, Watercolors Diveshop, Blue Lilly Hotel, Exclusive Dawn VIP Boracay Resort, True Home, and New Wave Divers, all at the island’s Station 1 area, and Calveston International at Station 2.

Existing laws and regulations set the coastal easement in the island at 30 metres and the road easement at six metres from the centre of the highway.

All establishments found violating the easement laws were ordered to suspend operations pending the removal of their illegal structures today (Thursday, February 28).

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Department of Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Roy Cimatu said there were still establishments in Boracay that had started to operate without the necessary permits from the task force.

Mr Cimatu said the 10 establishments will be given 15 days to demolish their structures and facilities.

“If they still refuse to comply, the inter-agency task force will be forced to demolish these structures,” he added.

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The prohibition is intended to protect the shore and the island’s pristine white sand.

Among the prohibited items are stage platforms, tables, chairs, massage beds, beach umbrellas, souvenir shops and food stalls.

Electrical fixtures, such as lightings and wirings, will also be removed and prohibited from the beachfront vegetation area.

The task force also said today that it would be “merciless” in implementing the law against businesses as well as private residences that continue to violate easement rules.

Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said: “This is a strong message to everyone still violating the easement rule that we will be merciless.”

Also today, Mr Cimatu said the task force would address the eyesore created by “spaghetti wires”, adding that the Department of Public Works and Highways would install underground cables instead.

Last year, President Duterte ordered a six-month closure of the island, after describing it as a “cesspool”.

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