Cebu Daily News / Visayas

http://globalnation.inquirer.net/cebudailynews/visayas/view_article.php?article_id=126713

Bora resort owner sues DENR execs Cebu Daily News Posted date: March 27, 2008 ILOILO CITY — The owner of a multi-million-peso resort and hotel being built on a wetland on Boracay Island has sued the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) for stopping the construction of the property. In a 49-page petition for declaratory relief filed before the Aklan Regional Trial Court Branch 5 on Feb 29, the Cebu-based J. King and Sons Company, Inc. sought a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction against the DENR's order that suspended the construction of the Boracay Crown Regency Hotel and Convention Center. The 450-room hotel is being constructed in an 11,000-square meter property in barangay Balabag, one of three villages on the island-resort. Named respondents were Environment Secretary Lito Atienza Jr., three other DENR officials and the municipality of Malay where Boracay is located. In its petition, the property owner asked the court to nullify a Feb. 11, 2008 notice of adverse findings and a cease and desist order against the construction of the hotel. It also asked the court to rule that the property was not covered by a moratorium on the new construction on the island. The petitioner is also seeking at least P1.5 million in damages and legal fees from the DENR. But Atienza said they were standing by their decision and orders until ordered otherwise by the courts. "It's their prerogative (to file a case). But we will continue to conduct a thorough investigation how they were able to secure permits and tax declarations for the area considered a wetland. This is the kind of abuse of the environment that is prevailing in Boracay," Atienza told the Inquirer in a telephone interview. The DENR Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) issued last February a notice of adverse findings against the hotel for undertaking construction work without an environmental compliance certificate (ECC). The bureau also directed the hotel to halt construction because the property has been identified as a wetland. The DENR has blamed unregulated development and construction on the island's wetlands for the flooding in Boracay. Wetlands are natural deterrents to flooding because they are "storage for surface water," they help control wave and coastline erosion, provide habitat to aquatic life, and recharge or replenish water sup plies. The agency has identified 10 areas on the island, covering at least 14.59 hectares, as wetlands that have been reclaimed. /INQUIRER