MANILA -- Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said Friday that President Rodrigo Duterte has full powers to stop casino operations in the recently reopened Boracay Island even without issuing an executive order.
"The president has power and tools to stop casino operations in Boracay. The only advantage of an executive order is that it sets long-term policy and provides formal framework for all governmental actions on the matter," Guevarra said.
Duterte earlier reiterated that no casino would be allowed to operate on the island, dousing administration critics' speculation that the closure and rehabilitation were a pretext to the construction of a gaming resort.
Department of Agrarian Reform officials have distributed a total of 623 certificates of land ownership award (CLOAs), covering 274.0352 hectares of land under the Agrarian Reform Program (ARP), to 484 agrarian reform beneficiaries from Boracay and mainland Malay, and the towns of Buruanga and Tangalan, Aklan.
Of the 623 CLOAs distributed, six land titles covering 3.2064 hectares of land were given to the 44 members of the Boracay Ati Tribal Organization. (PNA)
