Boracay stakeholders pin hopes on Senate
With Supreme Court (SC) declaring with finality that Boracay Island belongs to the State, stakeholders in the world-famed tourist destination in Aklan pin their hopes on Congress.
We now pin our hopes on Congress to pass legislation protecting vested rights in the island, Boracay Foundation Incorporated President Louvelle Cann told The News Today yesterday, in the wake of the High Tribunal's declaration that residents cannot claim ownership over parcels of land in the island resort based solely on years of occupation.
At the same time, Cann said that the SC's decision would adversely affect not only land ownership but the tourism industry in the island resort ultimately.
"At the end of the day, it would be the tourism industry which will sacrifice," she pointed out.
Although not a party to the case, Cann said they are likewise affected by the decision because they have invested in developing the different resorts now dotting the island's white sand beach.
Now that the SC has ruled with finality, Cann said that they will be taking their fight for ownership before the Senate, where House Bill 1109 was transmitted after the House of Representatives approved it last April 29, 2008. The Bill, authored by Aklan Rep. Florencio Miraflores, seeks to declare certain parcels of the public domain in Boracay as agricultural and open for disposition for agricultural, residential, commercial, industrial or other uses.
Even then, the BFI is pushing for the Bill's amendment because there is a flaw in the bidding process, said Cann.
"We hope that the Senate would pass the amendment," she said, while soliciting support from the public for the speedy passage of the Bill.
The ideal legislation, according to Cann, is one that should respect and protect the vested rights of residents and investors in the island.
"Vested rights should be respected so that there would be no confiscation of properties," she said.
Cann said that the Court's decision "is a drawback for the investment and development on the island."
"Who would want to invest where everything is uncertain, including ownership," she said.
At the same time, investors in the island would hesitate expanding their business because their ownership is not clear, Cann added.
She also blamed the government. "The government should have cleared its stand earlier," she stressed.
The government apparently consented to the introduction of improvements by issuing building permits and Environmental Clearance Certificates, Cann pointed out. "The investors were misguided."
The decision would also have implications in the country's relationship with various countries. "It would affect the many foreign investors in Boracay," she said.