SC stops P1-B Boracay reclamation project

MANILA, Philippines - The Supreme Court (SC) yesterday indefinitely stopped a P1-billion reclamation project along the 40-hectare coastline of Boracay Island and nearby Caticlan port in Aklan.

In a 65-page decision, the SC issued a writ of continuing mandamus enjoining the Aklan provincial government and other implementing agencies from proceeding with the first phase of the project covering 2.64 hectares of foreshore area in Caticlan, Malay, Aklan.

The SC granted the relief sought in the petition filed by the Boracay Foundation Inc. (BFI) after holding oral arguments, and made indefinite the effect of the temporary protection order (TEPO) it issued in June last year.

A continuing mandamus is a writ issued by the court in an environmental case directing concerned government agencies under Section 4 (c) of the Rules of Procedure for Environmental Cases “to perform an act or series of acts decreed by final judgment which shall remain effective until judgment is fully satisfied.”

Apart from the writ, the SC directed the Region 6 office of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Environmental Management Bureau (DENR-EMB) to revisit and review its classification of the reclamation project as a single instead of a co-located project, its approval of the provincial government’s classification of the project as a mere expansion of the existing jetty port in Caticlan instead of classifying it as a new project, and its impact on the environment based on new, updated and comprehensive studies it would undertake.

The SC ordered the Aklan provincial government to conduct proper consultations with non-governmental organizations and other stakeholders and concerned sectors, and to secure the necessary clearances from local government units to be affected by the reclamation project.

The provincial government was also directed to cooperate with the DENR-EMB in its review of the reclamation project and submit its appropriate report to the department.

The SC tasked the Philippine Reclamation Authority to closely monitor the submission by the provincial government of the requirements to be issued by the DENR-EMB in connection with the environmental concerns raised by BFI.

Lastly, it mandated the BFI, the PRA, the DENR-EMB and the provincial government to submit their respective reports on their compliance with its requirements not later than three months from the date of the promulgation of the decision last June 26.

The BFI, composed of over 60 resort, hotel and restaurant owners as well as community organizations and environmental advocates, questioned the reclamation project, which started in December 2010, for purportedly lacking a comprehensive environmental impact assessment and public hearings.