SC stops P1-B Boracay reclamation project

(Updated 3:30 p.m.) The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued an order temporarily stopping the Aklan government from proceeding with its P1-billion reclamation project off Boracay Island. In its en banc session, the magistrates voted to issue a temporary environmental protection order against the construction of a 40-hectare reclamation site between Boracay Island and the coastal village of Caticlan. “The respondents are being ordered to cease and desist from conducting reclamation activities along the coastlines in Caticlan in Malay, Aklan," Supreme Court spokesman and administrator Jose Midas Marquez said at a news briefing. The Aklan government is given 10 days to file its comment, Marquez added. The reclamation project being questioned has two components: 36.82 hectares on Caticlan in mainland Aklan, and 3.18 hectares on Boracay Island. Caticlan and Boracay are located in Malay town in Aklan province. Last week, the Boracay Foundation Inc. (BFI) asked the high court to issue the order to stop the P1-billion project, which has supposedly adverse impact on the environment. Citing a study conducted by marine biologists from the Marine Environmental Resource Foundation and the University of Philippines’ Marine Science Institute, the foundation also said the project will affect the current and flow of the tides between Caticlan and Boracay and may cause further erosion of the sands on the island, a premier tourist spot in the Philippines. The BFI claimed that the Department of the Environment and Natural Resources allowed Aklan to proceed with the project even if the local government has not complied with the proper requirements needed to construct a reclamation site. The petitioners added that the Aklan government failed to consult with the local government units and other stakeholders before the start of the project, which local officials from Malay town and Caticlan village have strongly opposed. The group, composed of some 160 businessmen and residents on Boracay Island, also asked the High Court to compel Aklan to conduct a comprehensive environmental impact assessment. — JE, GMA News