Boracay hotel resort torn down for encroaching onto beach

Boracay hotel resort
The Boracay Plaza Beach Resort has now been torn down. Picture courtesy of the DENR

A Boracay hotel resort has been torn down for violating the 30-metre “easement rule” by encroaching onto the island’s shoreline.

The Boracay Plaza Beach Resort was demolished by the government’s inter-agency task force yesterday (Tuesday, March 19), the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) confirmed today.

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The DENR-led Boracay Inter-Agency Task Force (BIATF) carried out the demolition after the final 15-day ultimatum given to establishments encroaching on the shoreline had expired.

All other establishments responded positively to the ultimatum issued by BIATF, except for Boracay Plaza. The resort had structures built on about 1,000 square metres of land within the easement zone.

As we reported, BIATF chair and DENR Secretary Roy Cimatu announced the ultimatum during the meeting of the task force held at the end of last month.

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“Erring establishments had already been given more than enough time to shape up since the closure,” he said.

“It would be unfair to those who voluntarily demolished and complied with the easement rule if we will not enforce the law to those who did not.” 

Aside from violating the easement rule, Boracay Plaza was also found to be operating without the required permits.

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The resort had been issued three orders to vacate and demolish since April 26 last year when the island was ordered closed for a six-month environmental rehabilitation. The owner defied all three orders, the DENR said.

The department’s director Natividad Bernadino said that nine other establishments given the same 15-day ultimatum on March 4 had already either partially or completely demolished their structures.

These were the Blue Lilly Hotel, Calveston International, Exclusive Dawn VIP Boracay Resort, Little Prairie Inn, New Wave Divers, Steve’s Cliff/Boracay Terraces Resort, True Homes, Watercolors Dive shop and Willy’s Rock Resort.

All 10 establishments, including Boracay Plaza, were the last remaining structures along the White Beach to be demolished, making the area fully compliant to the easement law.

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