20-m coastal access law enforcement in Panglao hits a snag

PANGLAO, BOHOL, Philippines —  Officials of Panglao town in Bohol and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) have encountered a stumbling block in the full implementation of the 20-meter coastal access, or easement law.

At least six tourism establishments, who were told earlier by DENR Secretary Roy Cimatu, were willing to demolish voluntarily their structures that were found encroaching into the prohibited area, according to Panglao Mayor Pedro Fuertes.

However, some establishments have filed in court petition for injunction, which would prevent the enforcement of law prohibiting structures to encroach into the 20-meter coastal public access, according to Municipal Administrator Weng Lagura.

Lagura said that it should be the DENR who is in-charge of the implementation, and if only the municipal government has its way, then the demolition could have been carried out already.

Provincial Legal Officer Boloy Boiser confirmed to The Freeman that some resort firms have filed legal cases to stop the implementation of the law. But these were filed during the term of then mayor Benedicto Alcala. Some of the petitions are still pending in court, but others were already able to secure a court injunction, he said.

Boiser said that, due to the injunction, the municipal government cannot enforce the plan for demolition of structures encroaching into the prohibited 20-m coastal area.

Earlier, Cimatu with his regional bureau directors and other workers personally inspected the Panglao coastline, and he initially found at least 87 out of the more than 300 tourism establishments to have violated the easement law.

Cimatu warned resort operators that if no action on their part is seen after three to six months to voluntarily start the demolition of their illegal structures, then the DENR would take action accordingly. It is not only Panglao that is being inspected, but also other tourist destinations in the province, including the emerging Anda peninsula, about 100 kilometers east of Tagbilaran City, Cimatu earlier said.

Meanwhile, Panglao officials, led by Mayor Pedro Fuertes, issued an order halting a construction of a beach resort at Barangay Doljo for violation of the 20-m easement area, and fencing the coastal area without a permit.

In his Notice of Specific Performance dated April 18, 2018 — signed by Fuertes — Engineer Rogelio Bonao ordered the contractor Monocrete Construction Philippines Inc., thru project manager Christopher Guerzon, to dismantle the fences it constructed along the area.

“Your firm is constructing a fence without permit in the beachfront-easement. Obviously, you are causing inconvenience to the public by blocking their passage. Such violation will cause undue effect to social acceptability of your project,” Bonao reportedly told Guerzon.