SC upheld Duterte’s six-month shutdown of Boracay, sources say

The Supreme Court has upheld the six-month rehabilitative closure of Boracay last year, two sources said Tuesday.

The sources said the SC voted 11-2 on the decision. Associate Justices Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa and Marvic Leonen dissented, one of the sources said.

On February 19, the Court made an official announcement of the ruling, confirming the earlier information.

A day before Boracay was closed in April last year, two workers and a tourist petitioned the SC to stop the shutdown out of a concern for laborers there who may lose their jobs for months.

They claimed President Rodrigo Duterte acted without authority under the Constitution by ordering the closure.

The petitioners failed to secure a temporary restraining order from the SC. The shutdown proceeded from April 26 to October 26, 2018.

The closure of the popular tourist spot was governed by a presidential proclamation that declared a state of calamity in the barangays of Balabag, Manoc-Manoc, and Yapak in Malay town in Aklan.

"The state of calamity in the island of Boracay shall remain in force and effect until lifted by the President, notwithstanding the lapse of the six-month closure period," the proclamation read.

The declaration allowed government to tap up to P2 billion to help displaced workers on the island. —NB/ LDF, GMA News