BORACAY ISLAND, Aklan — Illegal structures built on a rock formation by a posh resort in Boracay Island started to get demolished first thing on Saturday morning on the orders of the owner, himself, ahead of the Environment Department team’s arrival in the area.
Boracay West Cove owner Crisostomo Aquino instructed his staff to remove the structures even before the team of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) arrived there at 10 a.m. on Saturday.
Aquino earlier agreed to voluntarily dismantle the illegal structures after Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu inspected the area on Friday afternoon.
The DENR team continued the demolition of the structures using jackhammers.
The structures were ordered demolished by the DENR for it was built outside the 998-square-meter area covered by the resort’s Forest Land Use Agreement for Tourism Purposes (FlagT) with the government.
Cimatu said in an earlier interview the structures are illegal because these were on rock formations. He said the DENR would monitor the demolition.
The DENR has ordered the area closed to the public, in a public notice posted on the property.
The notice stated that the rock formations will be restored or rehabilitated.
Aquino said it was the sixth time the structures were demolished. (PNA)
