Boracay investors appeal for win-win solution to land dispute
by MANNY MOGATO, Reuters | 10/13/2008 8:24 PM
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MANILA - Hotel owners on the Philippine island of Boracay said on Monday they feared for their investment after a Supreme Court ruling last week that the government owned the land at the country's most famous tourist destination.
The owners fear the ruling means that their properties, which include some of the most luxurious hotels in the country, could be taken over by the government.
But government officials have been quick to assure them their investments would be protected and their rights over the land where their property sits would be respected.
"We will reach out to them," Environment Secretary Joselito "Lito" Atienza told Reuters in an interview. "I have scheduled a meeting with them late this month. We need to help each other."
The Supreme Court over-ruled a lower court decision which had granted the hotels the right to own the land. Previously, the hotel owners had only acquired permission to build on what was government land.
Congressman Florencio Miraflores said a proposed law pending in the upper house of Congress would also help "correct the situation on Boracay" because it allows private ownership of land resort island.
The law has passed the lower House of Representatives.
"It will not only protect investments but will also respect the rights of the present claimants of the lands on Boracay," Miraflores told Reuters, adding only 20 percent of the 1,000-hectare island would be set aside as forest reserve.
Boracay's powdery White Beach has regularly been voted among the best beaches in the world. The island attracts more than 500,000 visitors annually and generated about $275 million in tourist receipts in 2007.
Loubelle Cann, president of the 150-member hotel and resort owners association on Boracay, said the court ruling last week had shattered investor confidence.
"Most of our members are getting nervous," Cann told Reuters. "They are holding off new developments and expansion. There were lots of concerns of what will happen to their investments."
Cann said most property developers were at a loss on whether they still have to bid for the land where their hotel, resort or restaurant had been existing for years.
"We fear the court's decision will stir more conflict and many of us are apprehensive on the future of the properties that we have invested so much in," said Ruchanie Gelito-Gadon, another resort owner, adding the government has no clear guidelines.
Gelito-Gadon said the government must also consider the contribution resorts had made to the local economy, such as providing employment.
"We appeal for the government to adopt a win-win solution," Cann said, adding resort owners were meeting next week to decide on whether to appeal the court ruling.
On Monday, Atienza said his agency was also extending until December a construction ban on Boracay, adding he was worried about reckless over-development on the island.
"The construction ban stays until December," Atienza said. "The Supreme Court decision only proves that our position has always been correct. Boracay's development was already uncontrollable. It must now be regulated."
The environment department and the local government imposed a six-month construction ban in January this year that was extended for another four months.
