MANILA – Sen. Cynthia Villar assured the public on Friday that her family’s Costa Vista beach resort project “has long been stopped.”
Mountains were reportedly being flattened and cleared in their Boracay property to make way for a resort.
“As a public servant and chairperson of the Senate Committee on environment and natural resources, I remain committed to protecting and preserving our natural riches, especially in the efforts to rehabilitate Boracay and restore it to its pristine condition,” Villar said.
She added that her “duty to our nation is primary, above and separate from my family’s business interests.”
Malay Executive Assistant Rowen Aguirre told CNN Philippines on Wednesday that Costa Vista project lacks some necessary permits.
He added that the local government had ordered to stop the development.
Costa Vista is a residential condominium development with five high-rise towers, according to its website.
But despite the stoppage order, a video taken on May 11, which was also posted on social media, allegedly showed the ongoing groundwork on the resort.
It was also reported that trees on a mountain in Barangay Yapak were being cleared.
Boracay residents criticized the leveling of the mountain amid the ongoing island closure and rehabilitation, adding that the site is near a natural habitat for endangered fruit bats.
Villar-led property firm Vista Land and Lifescapes, Inc. said on Wednesday that they have acted in full compliance with all applicable laws and regulations related to their development project in the island.
“As early as February this year, we have slowed down our development works, and have accordingly reduced the number of equipment and workers, in the area,” Vista Land’s legal counsel Ma. Nalen Rosero said.
Resero added that “the images appearing in the articles do not pertain to our project site.”
“The area subject of our development is a developed resort with existing facilities. Moreover, it is our policy to respect and preserve the natural topography of the land. To do so is not only structurally sound but more importantly, environmentally friendly,” she stressed.
The Interior department reiterated that no new structures will be built while the rehabilitation of Boracay is ongoing.
Environment secretary Roy Cimatu, for his part, said the alleged flattening of a Boracay mountain stopped before the six-month closure of the island which began on April 26.
“I have ordered, with the concurrence of the Boracay inter-agency task force, a total stoppage of all constructions of any kind effective immediately,” Cimatu said. (With a report from CNN Philippines/PN)
