Court orders Meren to vacate Ausie resort operator's apartment
A municipal court in Aklan has barred the sister of the Malay town mayor from continuing to occupy part of the apartment building of an Australian resort operator in Boracay.
In a six-page order issued by the Municipal Circuit Trial Court of Buruanga-Malay dated February 5, Judge Raul Barrios granted the motion of Greg Hutchinson for the issuance of a writ of preliminary mandatory injunction against Editha Cawaling-Meren, sister of Malay Mayor Ciceron Cawaling.
Hutchinson and his wife Viveca earlier filed a complaint of forcible entry and damages and asked the court to issue a preliminary mandatory injunction against Meren and Evangeline Dalino for the forcible takeover of the Boracay Sandcastles resort on November 5, 2008.
Meren has been occupying the ground floor of Hutchinson's three-story apartment adjacent to the 6,096-square meter property where the resort is located.
Barrios said in his order that Meren “occupies without any clear right the ground floor of the Boracay SandCastles – The Apartments.”
The court will issue a writ of preliminary mandatory injunction against Meren upon the payment of Hutchinson of an injunction bond of P100,000.
Meren, owner of the lot, is fighting control over the property claiming she had terminated the original lease contract with Hutchinson including a 10-year extension until December 4, 2019 for alleged violations including the failure of the Hutchinsons to secure the conformity of her estranged husband Claris Meren in the extended contract.
Hutchinson has denied the alleged violations and has questioned in court the legality of the termination of their lease contract with Meren.
But Barrios in the same order denied the motion for the issuance of a writ of preliminary injunction against Dalino stating that Dalino was already in possession of the SandCastles Resort since 2006.
The Hutchinsons had terminated the contract with sub-lessee Dalino and her partners on February 2006 for alleged violations of the contract. But Dalino has accused the Hutchinsons of illegally ejecting her from her leased property.
Viveca Hutchinson who has been holed up inside their apartment for three and half months since the takeover welcomed the ruling.
“This might signal the end of our captivity, but it signals the beginning of a struggle to get back to normalcy, to be released from the trauma and terror that my husband, 5-year old twins, staff, and I had been suffering since Meren and Dalino illegally took over SandCastles Resort and The Apartments with armed goons 93 days ago,” she said in an e-mailed statement.
Greg said in the statement that he and their children left the penthouse a month ago so that they can go back to school and “for them to get back to normal activities.”
Dalino said in a telephone interview that the court ruling proved her legal claim over the resort. She said Meren will appeal the court ruling related to the 375-square meter lot where Hutchinson's apartment is located.
Viveca said they will implement the ruling against Meren and appeal the decision concerning the resort.
The dispute has paralyzed the resort in Barangay Balabag at the northern end of the island. The premises has been continuously guarded by the Boracay Special Tourist Police Office to maintain order and prevent violence.