Boracay resort viewing deck demolished

Owner Crisostomo “Cris” Aquino said the destruction of the viewing deck of his popular West Cove resort yesterday marked the start of the gradual restoration of this famed beach destination.

Armed with jackhammers, Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) personnel took down the resort’s illegal structures built on rock formations in Sitio Diniwid, Barangay Balabag.

Some resort staffers helped in the demolition, which started a day after DENR secretary Roy Cimatu reviewed West Cove’s Forest Land Use Agreement for Tourism Purposes (FLAgT).

FLAgT is a contract between the DENR and a natural or juridical person authorizing the latter to occupy, manage and develop, subject to government share, any forest land for tourism purposes.

The DENR had granted West Cove a FLAgT covering a 998-square meter forest land in the island but this has been cancelled. Aquino said an appeal was pending with the Office of the President.

“He (Aquino) claimed nag-apply siya na gamitin ito. Pero in the process, na-destroy iyong natural resource, itong mga kahoy, iyong rock formation na natural resource dito,” Cimatu said. “Nabanggit ko kay Cris that this has to be demolished.”

West Cove manager Ben Mobo insisted that the viewing deck did not harm marine life in the area, citing an underwater assessment conducted by biologists Maria Eden Jaranilla and Jan Felix Balquin.

Resort management pegged the cost of the demolished structures to be between P1.5 million and P2 million.

Despite this, “I am thanking President Rodrigo Duterte for ordering a crackdown on all erring resorts in Boracay,” Aquino said.

He added, “[Cimatu] told me that, since we are considered the mother of all violators in Boracay, I should lead the restoration soon. I immediately agreed even without proper court orders. We are now the mother of those compliant [businesses] in Boracay.”

Aquino urged other resorts in the island to “do the same.”

Some 300 more resorts in Boracay’s beachfront are expected to be demolished soon, the DENR said. The Department of Public Works and Highways will assist in the demolition.

‘BORACAY BEACHES ARE CLEAN’

Earlier Aquino filmed himself gargling ocean water from West Cove to prove that beaches in Boracay are safe for swimming.

Last Wednesday he claimed that parts of the island – including Ilig-Iligan and Balinghay beaches – are clean despite fecal coliform levels and algae formation since 2015.

Aquino also challenged Executive Assistant to the Mayor Rowen Aguirre to gargle water from the Bulabog Beach.

“Mumugin ko iyong tubig dito sa harap ko. Mumugin niyo din diyan sa Bulabog,” Aquino said.

Aguirre accused West Cove of violating water sanitation codes.

“Nag-build siya (Aquino) sa isang no-build zone. Pangalawa, nagpatayo siya ng walang kaukulang permits – building permit, business permit, occupancy permit,” Aguirre said.