THREE beach resorts in Dagupan catering to high-end vacationers, were confirmed by the Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) to be squatting on public land along the shoreline of Barangay Bonuan Binloc in Dagupan City.

Eng. Benjamin Corpuz, chief of the survey and mapping division of the CENRO office, made this confirmation when he joined an ocular inspection conducted by members of the city council in the area Monday afternoon.

The three commercial establishments are Tres Gracias Resort, Oro Gracias Resort and Dimla’s Resort.

The Dagupan City government earlier announced that the Tres Gracias Resort and the Dimla’s Resort are already set for demolition.

Corpuz said the three were built along the foreshore land owned by the state under the jurisdiction of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), supporting CENRO Raymundo Gayo’s statement before the Sangguniang Panlungsod in its Nov. 29 session that the DENR is in charge of managing the foreshore areas, not the city government.

Corpuz also confirmed that the DENR did not sign any foreshore lease agreement with any individual or corporation to occupy the area.

The ocular inspection was led by Vice Mayor Belen Fernandez, SP chair, with Councilors Maybelyn Fernandez, Karlos Reyna, Jeslito Seen, Alvin Coquia and Luis Samson Jr. Former Councilor Michael Fernandez, a consultant in the office of Fourth District Rep. Gina de Venecia, also joined the inspection.

NO WAIVERS ISSUED

In a letter to the SP, City Administrator Vladimir Mata admitted that Tres Gracias Resort and Dimla’s Resort are illegal and are operating without a mayor’s permit, business permit and sanitary permit as required by law.

Mayor Benjamin Lim, in a radio interview last week, said the City Engineer’s Office has the power to demolish all illegally constructed structures even without an order from him.

The mayor reiterated his claim that he never issued a single waiver to any of the owners of the beach resorts in the area nor to any structure located in Sitio Silungan.

A letter of City Engineer Virginia Rosario to Vice Mayor Belen Fernandez dated Nov. 14, 2011 identified the owners and operators of Tres Gracias as Joseph Cruz and Jacinto Cruz.

Both are also believed to be the owners of Oro Gracias Resort.

Identified by Rosario as owners and operators of Dimla’s are couple Roberto Dimla and Loida Dimla, allegedly from Nueva Ecija.

Dominador Liwag, retail service manager of the Dagupan Electric Company, said that Tres Gracias (possibly including Oro Gracias) were using waivers of three different residential customers with separate meters of Janzinni Grace Diaz, Joseph Diaz and Jonahmae Grace Diaz, all of whom were issued respective waivers.

OIC City Assessor Alan Dale Zarate reportedly said Joseph and Jacinta Diaz from Baguio have tax declarations in his office but this pertains to a small house inside the Bliss site.

Meanwhile, the electric meters for Dimla’s Resort was in the name of Romeo Rubes who was connected with electricity on Oct. 2007 based on a waiver purportedly issued by Lim; and Reynaldo Atanacio who was connected on Aug. 21, 2004, based on electrical permits issued by OIC Engineer Nestor De la Torre.

Zarate also reported that the Dimlas have no record of property in Dagupan.

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