Bantayan Island Beach Resorts to Be Destroyed
I am so confused about what is going on in Bantayan Island regarding the demolition of resorts along the beaches of Bantayan Island. Trying to sort out fact from fiction is also hard.
I read where one owner claims there have been no hearings or that he couldn’t attend? There have been hearings. Claims of not being able to attend, why? Because they couldn’t get back in country? They didn’t elaborate.
I read an article that claims all of St. Bernard Beach Resort is to be destroyed. From what I can tell, its the structures and sea walls that are within 20 meters of the beach that are to be destroyed. Kind of hard to know where the beach ends and the land starts though. Though, I think a wall to hold back the sea would always be on the beach. Maybe someone can explain all this to me.
I didn’t stay at St Bernard Beach Resort but I visited it while I was staying at Tickety Boo Beach Resort. It is a very nice, calming place. I don’t recall them having a seawall at all but the place seemed low and further back from what I would call the beach.
Both of those places are in a court order to have, at least, their seawalls destroyed according to an article in Cebu Daily News. So far, Marlin Beach Resort has had their seawall destroyed and several beach side structures have also been removed. It was a beautiful place. I don’t remember a seawall there. There must be one. What does that mean? Will it soon be flooded often or during stroms, just during typhoons?
These Structures Have Been Destroyed by the DENR
I’ve been trying to find out the answer to this but I have had not luck. Perhaps my readers or a resort owner will help. I sent a text message to one owner, asking if their resort will be torn down and they replied that they don’t know when or if the DENR will destroy their seawall. I’m not going to say who as I don’t want to draw any more attention to the place, not on this matter.
Is tearing down the seawall the equivalent of tearing down the resort? Perhaps it is. I don’t know.
Something to keep in mind though. The beaches in the Philippines are free and open to the public. I’ve seen several places charge for camping on “their beaches.” I’ve been wondering how they got away with that. Those places doing that brought unwarranted attention upon themselves.
I have mixed emotions, I surely want to see the beauty of Bantayan Island well preserved but I also love the Bantayan Island Beach Resorts.
Tagged with: Bantayan Island • Cebu • Island Resorts
Filed under: Bantayan Island Beach Resorts
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Hello Rusty, that picture of the beach w/ some structures on it is a clear violation of the 20 meter rule. The structures are right on the shore line. If it’s a public beach, then they should be covered by those restrictions. I’m up for greater control over shore lines.
Roy thanks,
yes, it is. The article never questioned that. Based on what I’ve seen, all the beach resorts on Bantayan are in violation. Seems they would all need to be torn down and not just these kind of structures but the buildings themselves. The result would be no beach resorts on Bantayan.
What is a beach? Where the water normally rises to at high tide, a normal high tide?
I’m trying to understand where this is going.
All beaches in the Philippines are public. Or they are suppose to be. So it is always a public beach. Lots of homes being built on beaches in San Remigio.
Does the DENR need to remove all resorts on beaches? The answer seems to be yes to comply with law. Why not just pull out a gun and shoot the Philippine Economy in the head?
Something else, we ran into this term before within the Philippine justice system, well, those that are acting within it. The law is said to apply especially to foreigners.
You are asking what is a bEEch? Or a beach? I thought we were talking about beAches. Perhaps you are asking at which point the beach ends so the measure of the 20 meter rule can start. I think the law is designed to provide the general public greater access to the shoreline so I would say the beach ends at where it can go at its highest during high tide. This should push farther cottage operators off the beach. But that’s just me who thinks that the beach should be open and accessible to the public at all times, even during high tide.
Sadly there are beaches that are private. We cannot even pass through it.
Yes, enforcing the law hurts local tourism (particularly the owners who built solid structures) but eventually more people would benefit from this instead of the few.
No one benefits if no one goes.
I don’t think it is helpful.
I also think those places charging for access to “their” beach got what was coming.
I don’t THINK Marlin was but Kota did if you camped there. That’s the beach most of the locals went to. Its an awesome place.
The city has many structures on that beach. Though the last big typhoon tore about a third of it down for them.
I’m going to try to go visit next month. I think.
i was on bantayan last march and april,apparently before the seawall removal,i was already thinking that those shouldn’t be allowed because they restrict access to everyone [filipinos included] i’m sure there’s two sides to this issue however i do think some western expats need to realize that filipino’s shouldn’t be considered second class citizens in their native country,i’m just grateful i’m always received there with great friendliness and respect.btw i’m an american
Ken, I wonder, did you run into a certain Paul while you were in the Philippines. The second class statement makes me think you might have. I don’t think most expats act that way, there is that small group that do that. Though they do like to get around and complain all day long.
Charging for access to the beach is wrong, at least I think so. I think there’s been an over reaction to that but I don’t know.
Seawalls could cause havoc for those around it, I would think? I see things said though about the island eroding. I don’t know, that island has been there a long time.
Its my understanding that St. Bernard will loose half their buildings. Its a place built for those in a wheel chair.
The action has been limited to certain resorts. My guess is someone felt disrespected. Someone with money.
Still, I agree, charging for access to the beach is very un-Filipino. The beaches being public is a really big deal. If they follow the law though, there are some Filipino homes that need to come down. Small, very modest homes of fishermen that live on the sea.
I get different and sometimes contradicting information from resort owners when they speak of other resorts. Time will tell. I was hoping to get back over there next month but doesn’t look like I will be able too.
hi rusty,the name paul doesn’t ring a bell though i did talk to a few westerners on bantayan lol over redhorse .i met a irish expat [bernie and wife lolanda] his house is right on the beach [next door to tristans] i wonder if his seawall got demolished too.i’m sure theres more than one side to the seawall issue and thankfully it doesn’t really concern me. i’ve been to bantayan twice and plan on returning soon,the philippines is a very interesting place,almost everyday i was amazed,appalled,surprized but mostly enjoyed my time there.ken
I’ve waved to Bernie but that’s it.
The seawall issue will concern you if there are no places to stay on Bantayan or the prices go up because there are few places.
I don’t want to see those places go away but then I live close. I can see Bantayan Island from my house. LOL Not really just thinking of an American politician. If I live on the other side of the Island, I would be able to see it from my house.
That Irishman is sitting in a very pretty place.
What an awesome place to live.
I don’t hang around all those expats too often because of the complaining it sounds like you heard. I tend to keep more to myself. I’m about to right an article on that on my sister site. RustyFerguson.com along with a video that my GF took shortly after I got here.
yup bernie is a truly nice guy! lol though probably suffering from the same ailments that draw most of us to places like the philippines,i am a little concerned however because his health,i neglected to get his contact infomation,perhaps i can find out something from nancy next door.btw rusty do you know the story behind the yellow train engine that is displayed in bogo?i suspect it was from a bygone era perhaps before ww2
No, I don’t know the story. Jessie was shocked to see it. I suspect its from the WWII era.
You know, I thought Nancy might be married to him LOL I never asked. They seemed to be connected but I never saw them talk.
Aliments draw us to the Philippines? For me, that’s one of the downsides. Nothing about lupus mixes well with the Philippines. Oh, I have lupus but then diabetes doesn’t mix well with it either.
Now if you meant eccentricities okay, that I would understand. Gotta face it, most expats, well we are a little odd. LOL
I have never spoken to him other than hello. I figure he sees enough expats come and go so I never pushed it. I normally don’t though. Perhaps I will run into you there one day or you can let me know when you are there and I’ll come visit the both of you.
thanks for answering,bernie is married to a local filipina named lolanda or some such,nancy is apparently just a good friend,i met him on my first trip to bantayan and his health is really deteriorating i’m just hoping he is still ok.great rusty i’ll let you know when i buy my plane tickets,right now i’m thinking sept. lol i read your piece on arriving in manila and its right on the mark but although confusing, immigration in manila wasn’t that bad,someday i’ll tell you about my experience with immigration in detroit on my way back uhuhuh.btw i see your from miss.,i’m next door tenn.
I grew up in Ms. I consider myself to be from Tn. I moved to the Memphis area in the early 80′s and into Memphis in the mid 80′s/
oh damm,my girlfriend just called nancy at tristans and it seems bernie died a couple of days ago,hmmm bantayan won’t be quite the same.but he and i had talked at length alone these lines before and he told me he wanted to die right where he was.ken
Well that’s a major bummer.
Sorry to hear that.
Having a heart attack on the Island wouldn’t be a good thing.
Did Nancy ever get her internet connection going? Last time I was at Tristans there, she had built a place for it but no net yet.
from what i understand bernie died from general health health problems and wouldn’t seek medical attention [yup bantayan would not be the place to have a medical emergency] bernie died as he wanted ,in the place he wanted,not a bad way to go. i don’t know if nancy has internet or not,i’ll try to find out.ken
If you didn’t see the computer then she probably doesn’t.
No not a bad way to go.
oh oh are you sure Memphis is part of tn.? i was under the impression everything west of Nashville is Ark. or some such. lmao
Yes, I became acutely aware of that when I went to Nashville during the Memphis Showboats period. While they were a huge story all over the south because of their strong showing and were front page news in Memphis during the playoffs, I could barely find a mention of them in the Nashville papers. Just about a quarter inch of coverage when they won a birth in their conference championship game.
Heck of a way to treat the states largest city. I think Nashville has reclaimed that title but they will loose it again. Well, unless Memphians kill each other in a race war. That’s the worst part of Memphis, racial tensions there are worse than any place else I ever lived.
Memphis, overall though, is a very cool place.
chicago and detroit have it beat regarding race relations maybe, but ofcoarse i was kidding about memphis its an ok city if you like war zones,i’d rather take my chances walking down a dark street in cebu any night
I feel much safer in Cebu than I do Memphis, Nashville, Chattanooga or Knoxville.
Memphis is usually in the top two cities in the country for violent crime per the FBI. Sometimes Detroit takes the lead.
knoxville’s just too small to compete but it tries,lol i’ve lived and worked in lots of high crime areas and have developed almost a sixth sense about dangerous situations and my radar has never gone off in cebu,manila slightly
I am shocked to hear about my friend Bernie. I always stopped by to see him when I was there. A more hospitable man you could not meet.
I was just telling a friend of mine about him today. Ken, tell me more about Bernie. I am very sad to hear about this. I saw him last September … he was same ole Bernie.
Solas siorai, Bernie.
Ken, you can contact me by E mail : gavan1069@yahoo.co.uk