Authorities Destroy Boracay Luxury Hotel Owned by Pnoy’s Cousin
The owner of a controversial resort on Boracay Island on Friday agreed to voluntarily destroy illegal structures after Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu threatened to tear down part of the property.
Crisostomo Aquino, owner of Boracay West Cove resort, volunteered to demolish the structures he had built on top of rock formations and those not covered by a lease agreement with the government starting on Feb. 24. Aquino is first cousin of former President Benigno Simeon “Noynoy” Aquino III.
Cimatu, who brought along a demolition team with him, rejected Aquino’s request to complete the demolition on five rock formations in 30 days, saying he would return on Saturday to ensure the work was being implemented.
Two other resorts that have deficiencies in permits and requirements also have voluntarily closed until they met all government requirements.
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) had previously issued a 25-year Forest Land Use Agreement for Tourism Purposes (FLAgT) to West Cove covering 998 square meters at Barangay Balabag in Boracay.
FLAgT allows the temporary use, occupation and development of any forestland for tourism purposes for a period of 25 years renewable for another 25 years. The agreement covers forestlands to be used for bathing, campsites, ecotourism destinations, hotel sites and other tourism purposes.
But the DENR canceled West Cove’s FLAgT on Sept. 12, 2014, for violating the terms of the agreement by putting permanent structures outside the allowed area.
Aquino had appealed the ruling with the Office of the President. There was no immediate word on what action had been taken on his appeal.
The resort became controversial for building structures on natural rock formations and operating for years without business and building permits.
In 2014, government agencies and Malay municipality, which has jurisdiction over Boracay, demolished illegal portions of the resort but West Cove went to the courts to stop the demolition.
Aquino has repeatedly denied the violations, alleging that he was being singled out.
Cimatu met Malay Mayor Ciceron Cawaling and Aklan Gov. Florencio Miraflores to discuss efforts to address sewage connection problems.
Crisostomo Aquino, owner of Boracay West Cove resort, volunteered to demolish the structures he had built on top of rock formations and those not covered by a lease agreement with the government starting on Feb. 24. Aquino is first cousin of former President Benigno Simeon “Noynoy” Aquino III.
Loading...
Two other resorts that have deficiencies in permits and requirements also have voluntarily closed until they met all government requirements.
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) had previously issued a 25-year Forest Land Use Agreement for Tourism Purposes (FLAgT) to West Cove covering 998 square meters at Barangay Balabag in Boracay.
FLAgT allows the temporary use, occupation and development of any forestland for tourism purposes for a period of 25 years renewable for another 25 years. The agreement covers forestlands to be used for bathing, campsites, ecotourism destinations, hotel sites and other tourism purposes.
But the DENR canceled West Cove’s FLAgT on Sept. 12, 2014, for violating the terms of the agreement by putting permanent structures outside the allowed area.
Aquino had appealed the ruling with the Office of the President. There was no immediate word on what action had been taken on his appeal.
The resort became controversial for building structures on natural rock formations and operating for years without business and building permits.
In 2014, government agencies and Malay municipality, which has jurisdiction over Boracay, demolished illegal portions of the resort but West Cove went to the courts to stop the demolition.
Aquino has repeatedly denied the violations, alleging that he was being singled out.
Cimatu met Malay Mayor Ciceron Cawaling and Aklan Gov. Florencio Miraflores to discuss efforts to address sewage connection problems.
Loading...
Comments
Post a Comment