KALIBO, Aklan – “West Cove is already half-demolished. In fact, the demolition…will be fast-tracked,” according to Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) assistant secretary Epimaco Densing III.
Densing said this on Thursday in an interview at CNN Philippines’ The Source.
The controversial Boracay West Cove resort do not have a business permit and is built on the no-build zone of the island, Executive Assistant to the Malay Mayor Rowen Aguirre told Panay News.
The demolition started last month, Aguirre added.
West Cove, a popular resort at Diniwid Beach, was one of the establishments ordered shut as Boracay closed up to six months beginning Thursday.
According to Densing, the resort is the “the mother of all violations” in the island, as it also defied the locational clearance, occupancy, sanitary and fire safety requirements.
DILG officer-in-charge Eduardo Año issued the demolition order on West Cove during a Cabinet meeting, said Densing.
Quoting his superior, Densing said, “It’s good that (the Department of Public Works and Highways) is here… ‘I’m going to ask for assistance to borrow equipment so we can fast-track the demolition of West Cove’.”
But West Cove resort owner Crisostomo Aquino said he was not served a notice to evacuate or a show-cause order.
Aquino said he agreed to self-demolish only a portion of the resort at the beachfront, asserting that the order from Malay mayor Ciceron Cawaling only covered closure and not total demolition.
Aquino also cried harassment as he lives in the property.
“Pagkatapos ng closure, pinutulan pa kami ng kuryente at tubig. (May) anim na pulis sa umaga, anim na pulis sa gabi,” Aquino told CNN Philippines in a phone call. “(It’s) harassment…Kung putukan ka doon, sasabihin nalang, ‘Ah nag-agaw ka kasi ng baril.’ Wala ka nang magawa.” (With Jun Aguirre and a report from CNN Philippines/PN)
