The Supreme Court has affirmed the legality of the six-month closure of Boracay Island last year. Voting 11-2, the SC resolved to dismiss the petition filed by three residents in the world-renowned tourist destination seeking to void President Rodrigo Duterte’s Proclamation No. 475, which closed Boracay to tourists and non-residents for rehabilitation from April 26 to Oct. 25 last year, an insider revealed. The high court opted to rule on the merits of the petition and declare Proclamation No. 475 as constitutional despite the period of the assailed proclamation already lapsed, which could have made the case moot and academic.

Requejo, R. E. (2019, February 13). SC affirms legality of Boracay six-month closure last year. Manila Standard, p. A3.