Marlin Beach Resort. (CDN PHOTO/LITO TECSON)
STA FE, BANTAYAN -Resort owners of Marlin’s Beach Resort said they were forced to build a new deck on the shoreline to counter the erosion by waves and “protect our property from totally disappearing from the coast.”
Faced with a threat of demolition for encroaching on a 20-meter public easement, German national Michael Sylvester said the deck was a “temporary” one.
“We can demolish this anytime. We can even start tomorrow,” he said of the pending notice of the Department of Envrionment and Natural Resources (DENR) 7.
“If they want, we can automatically tear this down but with one condition. They (DENR-7) should give us a design or a solution on how to stop coastal erosion in our property,” said Sylvester.
In a press conference, Sta. Fe Mayor Jose Esgana joined Sylvester in questioning the DENR’s pending action.
The mayor’s brother-in-law Pompeii Mondejar is vice president of the resort owned by Sylvester and his Cebuana wife Juvy Zaspa.
Mayor Esgana said the sea has already “submerged” two lots in barangay Talisay and partly affected 20 other lots.
The DENR 7 earlier said two resorts, including Marlin’s, risk being cited in contempt of court, and five others could be charged with violating a 20-meter public easement in the Philippine Water Code, whose enforcement was carried out four years ago in demolitions following a 2009 order of the Mandaue Regional Trial Court.
A DENR 7 team wrapped up a fact-finding inquiry last Friday that confirmed the presence of new “illegal” structures on the beach zone after Cebu Daily News reported the new elevated deck in Marlin’s that extended to the shore and new structures of other resorts and houses-for-rent rising on the beach.
Sylvester said they built the deck in May last year as a “makeshift seawall” to keep waves from slamming the resort.
The deck is used for Marlin’s restaurant and sunbathing area. The platform, topped with beach sand, is built on top of rubber tires and concrete.
The rise of new shoreline structures covered by building permits issued by the municipal engineer has stirred a fresh dispute involving DENR-7, the town’s political opposition and resort owners.
Sylvester started developing the property 14 years ago as one of Sta. Fe’s well-known resorts benefiting from the island’s pristine, white sand. It was opened to the public in 2003.
ASSISTANCE
Mayor Esgana, who is serving his first term as municipal mayor, criticized DENR-7 for paying more attention to the strict implementation of public easement zones despite “more pressing concerns in their municipality.”
He said Sta. Fe needs government assistance to curb coastal erosion especially in barangay Talisay, where he said the sea has reclaimed more than a hectare of land.
“Personally, I don’t care about that court order now. If they continue with that demolition, then I will also use my police power by virtue of R.A. 7160 (the Local Government Code) as municipal mayor. The removal of these structures is not an urgent concern,” he said.
“What we need here is help, not destruction.”
“We do not even have enough funds to rebuild after Yolanda, and here they are, threatening us with demolition? We are even thankful for these people (resort owners) because the structures have protected the properties behind it and the whole community of Sta. Fe,” said the mayor.
Esgana said that he welcomes announced plans of the DENR 7 for a dialog about the new structures, as long as they bring experts from the Climate Change Office.
Municipal assessor Rolando Fariolen showed maps and data indicating that two lots in barangay Talisay have been “totally submerged” due to coastal erosion while 20 other lots are “partially affected.”
The coastal barangay hosts several resorts in Sta. Fe, which directly face Bantayan island’s pier.
They showed a study conducted by a joint team of the University of the Philippines and the Department of Science and Technology affirming coastal erosion in barangays of Talisay and Marikaban.
The study was completed last month, said Mayor Esgana.
On Sunday, DENR-7 spokesman Eddie Llamedo said the new shoreline structures in Marlin’s Beach Resort and Yoooneek Beach Resort were a violation of the 2009 court order and have to be removed. Five other resorts not identified in the court order can be cited for violation of the Philippne Water Code.
He said the DENR 7 would first call for a dialog with resort owners to convince them to voluntarily remove the structures.
IMPOSSIBLE BOUNDARY
But with the sea erosion, said resort president Mondejar, it is “impossible” to set a permanent mark to reckon the boundary of the easement zone and where it starts.
“Who can determine the easement when every year, there’s a rise in sea level? There will come a time when all resorts here in Sta. Fe are considered violating the law on easements since the sea water is getting closer and closer to their property,” Mondejar said.
He and his German parnter Sylvester presented copies of a 2008 Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between the resort and DENR’s Protected Area Management Board (PAMB) of the Bantayan Island Wilderness Area for the construction of a “seawall in front of the beach, bar and restaurant of Marlin’s.”
According to Sylvester, the foreshore lease is for a period of 25 years.
They also showed the resort’s Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) issued by the Environmental Management Bureau in 2003.
“This is to show that all that we’re doing here is approved by the law,” said Sylvester.
The documents, however, were superceded by the 2009 court order in a novel case of “patrimonial malpractice” filed by environment lawyers Antonio Oposa Jr. and Ben Cabrido “in behalf of the Bantayan Group of Islands.”
The judge ordered the removal of “illegal” structures of six resorts within the 20-meter easement zone and prohibited the DENR from issuing any new ECC for projects in Bantayan island until the agency produces a general management plan for Bantayan, which is classified as a “protected area” under two national laws.
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