And Especially Foreigners

[No name]

There have been two cases that I have noticed an officer of the court use the term "and especially foreigners" regarding Filipino law.The most recent case applies to resorts in Bantayan Island and are likely to be applied to the Cebu area in general. I'm basing that on what was reported in the papers per DENR.There was a court order going after several of the resorts at Bantayan Island for being to close to the water. They are in violation, no doubt about it. There is to be no structure within 20 meters of the beach.One obvious problem is, there are Filipino homes, some quite modest, some little more than a lean too, right on the water. They own the land, not "informal settlers."The court ordered the destruction of structures at several resorts on Bantayan. All foreign owned. I know of one resort, a wonderful place that I love to visit and I wont mention it by name, I don't want to contribute to its demise. Its basically on the beach, the water laps at its steps. They are not going to be hit. I'm glad, I'd hate to see the homes next to it go too.There was a resident on the Island itself that brought suit to require the DENR to act but it only named several resorts, not all. All named were foreign owned. DENR tore part of those places down, including their seawalls that was the most obvious thing that had to go. I think Tickety Boo got hit hard. Nearby resort owner told me that it "Has been under the hammer all day long." They had a nice disco right on the water. Well, it was about 20 feet from their five foot sea wall. I'll see if I can find the picture I took from the second floor overlooking the bay. I will post it in a follow up if I can. I may try to contact that owner too.

[No name]

  Edited July 19, 2010 by Mr. Lee
Photo edit

[Mik]

To increase profits eliminate any competition to your business. It's more cost-efficient to focus on soft targets..

[No name]

To increase profits eliminate any competition to your business. It's more cost-efficient to focus on soft targets..

I don't THINK that is what is going on here. It seems to be resentment that caused this. This action was started by a group of residents on the island. I know that could be a front or "dummy" as the word is often used here. The lawyer, quoted in the paper, was clearly going after foreigners only. There are specific resorts mentioned in the action brought. It appears all were foreign owned though I thought one was local before. Still trying too find that out. For now, the local owned resorts are okay. That doesn't mean though that the DENR could come back and take action without a court order. The ruling already tells them they can go forward. If that were the case, they could have extorted money from the owners. That too would improve profits. :)I suppose it could have been an attempt too do just that but that's not what is going on. Some of them would have told me. I've been in contact with the owners, well most of them. Both those that got hit and those that didn't. corruption in the Philippines is over stated. I know that's not a popular position for me to take but I've just not seen the level of corruption here most others claim too. Some of the resorts are charging for access to the beach. That should have been stopped. Its very un-Filipino.I learned yesterday that Tickety Boo did get hit hard by DENR. Most of the structures in those photos are gone. Sounds like the left the rear wall? I don't know. Tickety Boo will be back in full operation in Sept.