Bacong When do they tear down all illegal structures here?

Demolition of illegal structures at Boracay resort starts
the Duterte government is starting to implement the existing law and tears down all illegal buildings / structures in the beach areas at Boracay, Panglao in Bohol and also at Palawan - when do they start here in this area? specially in Bacong, so many seawalls that make it impossible to have a nice beach walk, so many illegal houses in the environmental protection zone directly at the beach - not to mention waste water management... it is simply annoying when the foreign expat tries to fulfill all the laws in respect to the guest country and so many people do what they want without any consequences. any opinions? is this a lawless island?

 

The whole country is lawless!

 

Except for foreigners. When they do something wrong, the jail or the BI is waiting.

 

So what is wrong with being a law abiding foreigner just because some of the citizens are not so law abiding? When it comes to building codes it is probably because of the lack of money.
Just my 2 ¢ Doc.

 

I think what the OP was talking about was the fact that there are so many illegal structures on the beach here by the people that can afford to build them. I am not a lawyer but I have looked at a lot of beach front property and talked to many realtors, lawyers and a resort owner about the laws regarding building a house and seawalls here.The "foreshore", the beach, belongs to the public and access cannot be blocked nor can the beach be built upon. This means that you must allow a right of way access to the beach even across your property, although no one does. Depending on which law you read, the setback for buildings is from 6 meters to 25 meters from the beach. The setback also varies with the height of the structure built. Technically privately built seawalls are not legal although everyone builds one. I know an American that owns a resort on Alona Beach in Panglao. He was complaining because he can only build to 2 stories at his distance from the beach. He says in any case the maximum there is 3 stories but the big resorts come in and build 5 stories right on the beach. Normal procedure here to do whatever you like regardless of legality, as we all know. There is a thread on this site with part of the law quoted and much detail. If you want to read it yourself the thread is:
beach front property, shoreline - law problems?

There are many more laws that apply than what are quoted in that thread and some conflict with each other. The biggest problem is that the responsibility for enforcement is not clear as to what agency it should be. Of course we all know that the law is pretty much ignored here and not usually enforced.

 

Here is an example of what a sea wall does. It changes the wave action and in this case eroded the beach. The beach on the right is at the original level when the wall was built last year. There is now about 5 1/2 feet difference in height. When the tide is in the water is about 5 feet deep at the wall and there is no beach. You have to walk along the top of the wall to go past. Most people that build a wall just pick a spot at low tide and put up a wall. To make a sea wall last it has to be built differently and needs "rip rap", large piles of rocks, dropped at the base to keep the sea from eroding it. There is another wall further to the right that has been there longer and the sea has eroded under and behind it and it has fallen. The wall on the left will suffer the same fate. The sea has already washed the sand out down to the bottom of the wall and in spots you can see under it. My understanding is that the government's view is that this is a public asset, the beach, that has been ruined by an illegal structure. Of course we all know that in the Philippines "illegal" is a sick bird.

 

Perhaps you should read what the DENR says before making up your own rules. Here is their ruling. Note the part about "Foreshore lease" in which a private citizen can lease the foreshore.
http://policy.denr.gov.ph/dao2004/dao2004-24.pdf

 

I don't make things up as I don't have original thoughts. Anything you hear from me is something that a lawyer, real estate agent or official has told me, or something I have read. If you read further you will see that there are many conflicting rules and laws. Perhaps you should read a little further before you accuse anyone of making up their own rules. That statement makes assumptions that are untrue. You may even want to read the thread in DI that I referenced and the links posted there.

 

Thanks for the suggestion but I supplied the link to the DENR who are the ultimate authority. In addition I have seen the type of structures on the beach that you suggest are illegal and I have friends who have built such structures. The ones I know have the foreshore lease to do it and I have seen DENR personnel drop by for an annual visit to be sure they lessors are staying within the rules. Perhaps each DENR official interprets the law different. This is Philippines and that's how it works here.

You can say whatever you like but I doubt we would change each other's mind . . however, I do suggest you try not to get too frustrated walking around the "illegal" structures or trying to find someone to tear them down because you say they are not supposed to be there.

As to lawyers and other officials, I am careful about believing what lawyers and officials tell me. I prefer to believe what I see actually happening. For example, take a walk along the foreshore from Sibulan port towards Dumaguete. A short distance along the way you will find a spot you cannot get around unless you walk out into the water at a very low tide. I was going to do as you suggest and complain to the local officials, until I saw the sign. It is being built by the local Barangay.

If you manage to get by that spot, keep walking until you come to the airport. Try to walk by that on the foreshore and see what happens and I am told "certain officials" that they plan to extend even further out into the water as soon as the approval comes through from Manila.

So tell us again how:

 

Regardless of what the law says and whether there are conflicting laws or not - intentionally blocking the beach by building walls or fences just because you can is a sign of ignorance and sociopathic tendencies. The sea is a public good and walking along the beach should definitely be possible anywhere there is one.

Good example for how it can be done in a responsible way is the El Dorado in Dauin - they built a wall but clearly labelled the path on top of it "public walkway". Way to go imho.