Boracay’s 25+5 easement compliance ongoing

BY BOY RYAN B. ZABAL

Almost all establishments in the famous White Beach in Boracay Island have complied with the 25+5 meters easement regulation.

“But one establishment is still undergoing massive redevelopment, to be finished by end of April,” said Mabel Bacani, secretary of inter-agency Boracay Redevelopment Task Force. 

Last month, Tourism secretary Ramon Jimenez and Local Government secretary Mar Roxas inspected the compliance of establishments in the four-kilometer white sand beach. 

After the inspection, only seven structures were left violating the easement rule out of some 100 establishments.  

The task force gave the establishments until March 15 to voluntarily remove the illegal structures found violating the easement rule.

Bacani stressed, “the implementation of easement regulation is ongoing with the owners of restaurants, bars and resorts in the beachfront complying the 30-meter easement.”

The officials went on to inspect illegal structures in the controversial Boracay West Cove and the Boracay Ati community. 

Last year, the task force began the crackdown of erring business establishments violating the 30-meter easement regulation along the shoreline. Some establishments voluntarily tear down their structures in response to the call of Boracay Redevelopment Task Force. 

The government task force is composed of the Department of Tourism (DoT), Department of Justice (DoJ), Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), and Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG).

The multi-agency task force aims to sustain the preservation and protection and to regulate the development activities of the resort island.