Lawmaker says Boracay land titling bill to correct flaw in GMA proclamation

BORACAY – A lawmaker defended yesterday controversial House Bill 1109, which he filed, saying that the measure would fast track the titling of lands in Boracay benefiting long-time settlers and boosting business and investment on the island.

“This is reversing the process… Instead of (the people in Boracay) waiting for the 30 years in order to have titles to their land, they can already have titles (through) free patent under this measure,” Aklan Rep. Florencio Miraflores said.

But stakeholders, in a dialogue held here, maintained that the bill is “unconstitutional and confiscatory as it is negligently-made.”

Miraflores explained that he filed HB 1109 in a bid to “correct the flaw” of Presidential Proclamation 1064, issued by President Arroyo in 2006, which reverts privately owned lands in Boracay to the government, declaring the resort island as “unclassified forest land.”

He also asserted that HB 1109, co-authored by Negros Rep. Iggy Arroyo, would rectify pronouncements of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) that existing land titles on the island are “spurious” and that Boracay is owned by the government.

Miraflores assured Boracay stakeholders that the bill respects the people’s possession of their lands or their “prior vested rights.”

But he said that “as a general rule,” it is imperative to declare lands in Boracay as public domain before lands could be exempted and titled.

HB 1109 seeks to declare parcels of land of public domain within Boracay as agricultural and open these areas to disposition for agricultural, residential, commercial, industrial or other productive purposes.

“This measure is to put some order in Boracay because right now, the reality on this island is that there is no order here… Everyone can just build everywhere. This bill should serve as a road map for the island,” Miraflores explained.

Last Friday, stakeholders in this premier tourist destination staged a protest to show their opposition to the bill, which they claimed would endanger the future of the tourism industry in the country.

Socorro Ruchanie Gadon, chairperson of the organizing committee of the Boracay Land Owners and Stakeholders Movement (BLOSM), even warned that the proposed measure would result in a “bad relationship” between the government and the locals.

“This House Bill 1109 would only cause conflict in the island, and possibly spell death for the tourism industry not only in Boracay but also in the whole country because it would send a bad signal to the whole world,” Gadon said in an interview.

“Imagine, after investing so much, even millions to improve the island and make it become a premier tourist destination, the government would come in and just confiscate it,” she added.

“In this case, we have to really fight… We really have to safeguard our backyard from the government.”

Last May 6, bill was transmitted to the Senate for approval.  The House of Representatives passed the proposed measure last April 29, allegedly without due process, as stakeholders in Boracay claimed they were never invited to a single public hearing purportedly conducted since the proposed measure was filed in Congress on July 12, 2007.

The stakeholders claimed they only learned about the measure last June 4.

But some senators are reportedly not keen on supporting Miraflores’ proposed measure.

Architect Lara Salaver, a resort owner, said the senators asked them to draft a bill that would ensure the titling of their properties in Boracay, asserting their “prior vested rights” on the resort island.

Early this week, BLOSM leaders and members went to the Senate and presented a paper titled, “Manifesto on Land Ownership and Titling in Boracay.”

Salaver said they showed their manifesto to Senators Francis Escudero, Pia Cayetano, Jinggoy Estrada, Miguel Zubiri, and Bong Revilla, who all reportedly expressed “sympathy and support” for their cause.

The manifesto also expressed their objection to Presidential Decree 1064 and HB 1109.

“We have a pending nullification case before the Supreme Court against Presidential Decree 1064… And in case the SC rules in favor of the government, we still have the option to push for a bill for the titling of our property.  There is that option,” Salaver explained.

“But House Bill 1109 stops all the options available to us.  The congressman could have waited first (before making such move),” she added.

Meanwhile, Dr. Orlando Sacay, owner of Waling-Waling Beach Hotel and board member of the Boracay Foundation Inc., lamented moves like the HB 1109 that basically takes away the land they developed for the last 30 years or so.

In August 1999, Boracay residents won a case (on the same issues) against the government before a Kalibo court. The CA upheld the decision in March 2005 giving the Boracay landowners “prior vested rights.”

 “The court ruled that our vested rights cannot be prejudiced by declaring Boracay as forest as the government claims,” Sacay explained.

“We firmly believe that what is needed is for the court to confirm our ownership and issue us the title, and not the government.”

Sacay and his group has been pushing for “judicial titling or judicial confirmation” as the method by which the land they developed would be given to them. 

The government, however, offers only titling or disposition of lands in Boracay through public bidding, while HB 1109 offers free patent. – Katherine Adraneda