Police defer demolition of structures in Boracay

BORACAY ISLAND, Philippines – Tear-gassed and blocked by barbed wire barricades erected by fired-up residents, police on Thursday called off an attempt to demolish structures at a disputed property in this famous island resort in the central Philippines. Supt. Larry Decena, acting director of the Aklan Provincial Police Office, ordered the mission deferred after residents tear-gassed the demolition crew and their police escorts to show that they were not giving up their homes without a fight. Since Wednesday night, affected residents holed themselves up in the disputed property, although some have started to evacuate their personal belongings and children. Shortly after the tear gas attack, a fire broke out in the commercial compound. Decena said he was rescheduling the eviction operation to gather more legal documents to back their campaign. Among those who have concerns over the demolition was the Aklan Electric Cooperative (Akelco). The Kalibo Regional Trial Court has ordered the Akelco to immediately cut off supply of electricity in order to avoid electricity-related incidents in the course of demolition. "We will abide by the court order but we wanted to be clear who will pay for the consumed electricity already used by the residents. We are talking millions of pesos here. We wanted the court to clarify these things," said Chito Peralta, general manager of Akelco. On November 3, Kalibo Regional Trial Court Judge Elmo Del Rosario ordered the demolition of structures in the separate 9, 915 square meters 4, 957 parcels of land within barangay Manoc-Manoc on the southern side of Boracay. Del Rosario ordered the demolition after the Supreme Court ruled with finality that 9,915-square meter parcel rightfully belonged to Gloria Martin (second set of intervenor in the case) and the 4,957-square-meter parcel was bought by Fred and Joan Elizalde (first set of intervenors) from the original owner, now deceased. The court ordered plaintiff Vicente Delos Santos and 58 others to vacate the place and give way to the rightful owners. - GMANews.TV