Boracay workers appeal SC decision on constitutionality of Boracay closure

WORKERS IN Boracay and a tourist have asked the Supreme Court (SC) to reconsider its decision upholding the constitutionality of the six-month closure of Boracay Island in 2018. In an appeal filed March 13, the petitioners, represented by the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers, asserted that the order is unconstitutional and there was an “actual and deliberate impairment of the right to travel” when the island was temporarily closed, which is a violation of the Constitution. The petitioners asked the SC in April 2018 to issue a temporary restraining order against the closure, but the high court dismissed it only last Feb. 12 on the grounds that there was no impairment of the right to travel as it was “merely incidental” and the proclamation was a valid police power measure. President Rodrigo R. Duterte ordered the closure of Boracay, which he described as a “cesspool,” for rehabilitation from April 26 to Oct. 25, 2018. — Vann Marlo M. Villegas