West Cove Resort demolition halted after owner uses letter from Palace

The owner of Boracay Island West Cove Management Inc. has received a respite from the demolition of his business after receiving a letter from Malacañang.

Hotel owner Crisostomo Aquino said it was only recently that he received the order to stop the demolition from the Office of the Deputy Executive Secretary for Legal Affairs.

In a two-page letter dated March 23, Acting Deputy Executive Secretary for Legal Affairs of the Office of the President Ryan Alvin R. Acosta said, however, they have yet to decide on Aquino’s appeal.

It could be recalled that several years ago the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has canceled the Forest Land Use for Tourism Purposes, called FlagT, of the said resort for alleged environmental violations. The management has appealed to the Malacañang.

In March Environment Secretary Roy A. Cimatu asked Aquino to voluntarily demolish part of the resort to which the latter acquiesced.

But Aquino said the demolition order was more a political than an environmental cause. He also questioned the authority of the local government to close and demolish his resort while he cited a pending appeal to Malacañang.

“If ever Malacañang will render a decision [that ] would be against us, we still [have] an option to go to the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court,” Aquino said.

For his part, Livino Duran, assistant regional director of the DENR-Western Visayas said that the local government of Malay has jurisdiction over Malacañang’s order.