[ Manila Bulletin Online ] October 12, 2008
BY BOY RYAN B. ZABAL
BORACAY ISLAND, Aklan – Rep. Florencio Miraflores of this province lauded the decision of the Supreme Court (SC) en banc declaring Boracay Island as a state property.
Miraflores said the court ruling justified the intention of House Bill (HB) 1109 pending in the Senate to correct the flaws of Proclamation 1064 issued earlier by President Arroyo.
The proclamation classified Boracay, an island resort off mainland Panay, into 400-hectares of reserved forestland and 628.96 hectares of agricultural land.
"HB 1109 protects small players or investors and allows them to own lands in the island. They now have the chance to acquire the title of their occupied lands through free patent instead of public bidding," he said.
The solon declared HB 1109 as the "roadmap to Boracay’s development" citing the court’s acknowledgement that ecological conservation in the island is as important as its economic progress.
Also, HB 1109 seeks to declare other parcels of land in Boracay as agricultural and open other areas for residential, commercial, industrial or other productive purposes.
Tourism regional director Edwin Trompeta said they were "vindicated as the department has always maintained a position similar to SC decision."
"We hope HB 1109 of Congressman Miraflores, which the Boracaynons have protested against, will solve their predicament," he said.
In a 35-page decision penned by Associate Justice Ruben Reyes, private claimants are not entitled to apply for judicial confirmation over incomplete or imperfect land titles since Boracay Island remained an unclassified land of the public domain and was considered state property.
The SC said the proclamation merely declared Boracay Island and other islands as tourist zones.
Prior to Proclamation 1064, the island resort was an unclassified land or public forest under Presidential Degree 705 or The Forestry Reform Code of the Philippines issued by the late President Marcos in 1975.
