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Environment officials and owners of beach resorts in the town of Sta. Fe, Bantayan Island, northern Cebu, have agreed to seek the assistance of environment experts to implement a court order seeking the demolition of all illegal structures along the town?s shorelines.
?We tried to reach an amicable agreement with the beach resort owners,? said lawyer Tranne Ferrer of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in Central Visayas (DENR-7) legal division.
?It was unanimously agreed upon by all parties that the rock wall structures along the shoreline is not good for the environment.?
Ferrer said it was also agreed that an off-shore barrier would be built to replace the rock wall.
DENR-7 and the beach resorts owner agreed to let Dr. John A. Dor, an environment expert who lived on Bantayan Island for several years, draw up a proposal on how to best execute the court order.
?The proposal would specify what kind of off-shore barrier would be used. This would be submitted for approval by the PAMB (Protected Area Management Board) of Bantayan, which is a protected area,? said Ferrer. ?This proposal will then be given to the court for approval.?
Ferrer said the pre-conference meeting held yesterday was organized to discuss the implementation of the court order of Regional Trial Court Judge Marilyn Lagura-Yap of Branch 28.
In a 10-page decision dated Aug. 25 that also contained photos of an ocular inspection conducted by the court on Bantayan Island last May 18, Judge Yap ordered the DENR-7 to make sure that structures built within a ?20-meter distance at the margin of the seashore? are demolished.
Yap said that based on what the court found from the ocular inspection, Abaniko Beach Resort, Tickety Boo Beach Resort, Yooneek Beach Resort, Kota Beach Resort, Marlin's Beach Resort and St. Bernard Beach Resort have built structures within 20 meters from the shore.
Except for Abaniko Beach Resort, all other resorts were represented by their owners during yesterday?s meeting.
Yap said the petitioners, environmental lawyer Antonio Oposa Jr. and other Bantayan Island residents, are deprived of direct access into the sea and into the island and that the concrete structures on the beach front limits the access of fisherfolk to the sea and so they can seek immediate shelter during storms or monsoon rains.
