A group of Canadian and American expatriates are embroiled in a raging property dispute on the Filipino tourist resort of Boracay in which allegations of drug abuse, criminal conspiracy and the use of FBI informants are being traded on the blogosphere.
For the people of this tiny bone-shaped island in the central Philippines, which draws more than half a million tourists — including thousands of Canadians — each year, the theatrics which culminated in a Press conference last week, has become somewhat of a flashpoint over foreign ownership of local land.
Boracay which has been transformed in 40 years from a sleepy limestone outcrop without electricity into one of the country’s priciest chunks of real estate has over the past few years seen a scramble to secure ownership of some of the most valuable real estate in the Philippines and this has led to violence including tear gas, fires and allegations of kidnapping, as well as prolonged court action.
“These people don’t care about preserving Boracay…they are in there to cash in on the real estate prices,’ said a Vancouver-area Filipino-Canadian businessman, who is familiar with the property disputes on Boracay.
“We paid money to have a small piece of land with a well there to preserve it for my family…but later found out that the guy who sold it to us did not even own it,” he said.
Only 10 percent of the area has land titles, with the rest of the resort owners and residents essentially leasing space by paying real estate taxes.
The latest case filed with the Aklan Provincial Prosecutor’s Office involves Canadians Peter Eckart and Peter Tayler, American couple Spencer and Evelyn Anderson, and Filipino lawyer, Lucas Licerio, all residents of Boracay Island who claimed at a Press conference they were “duped” by a Filipino American, Dolly Khana who runs the development firm called Boracay Luxury Homes.
The complainants’ lawyer, Gina Garcia, told local media that her foreign clients were duped of some P100 million (about C$2.3 million) by Khana and her consortium “by promising them real property ownership in Boracay”.
The land in question, the group claims in their official complaint actually belongs to local lawyer Lucas Licerio, whom Khana was selling as his agent.
Garcia alleged that Khana instead claimed ownership of Licerio’s lots on the island and sold these to the foreigners.
“We believe Khana has victimized more foreigners who are afraid to come out in the open for certain reasons. We have documents to show that Khana have already been convicted of estafa (fraud) charges in California, USA,” Garcia alleged at the Press conference.
The complainants also said that both the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) in the Philippines have deemed Khana’s Boracay Luxury Homes and other attached companies as unregistered and that Khana is not a taxpayer.
“One of Khana’s schemes is to put out full-page color advertisement in several national magazines and other prominent publications in the country, all promoting her Boracay Luxury Homes. Khana seemed to be an influential person,” said Garcia.
Khana and her lawyers have denied the claims and the U.S. convictions on the blogs associated with the local newspapers that carried the story.
Boracay Luxury Homes is a luxury real estate developer on the island of Boracay, according to its website.
The website states Boracay Luxury Homes offers exclusive titled beachfront and golf course properties for sale which in turn provides a high return on investment and an instant equity gain.
One of the responses attached to the original story in the Filipino media and attributed to Attorney Lorna Patajo Kapunan, Counsel for Mrs. Dolly Khana, states; “Based on reliable information, these so called “expats” are under the PDEA (Philippines Drug Enforcement Agency) watch lists for dealing/pushing/using/possession of marijuana and other illegal prohibited drugs.
These foreign expats publically smoke marijuana and set a bad example for the youth and young children in Boracay. People like these people are not welcome in this country, blatant disrespect for the Philippine laws. Spencer Anderson arrogantly brags that he buys marijuana next door to the police station in Boracay. They openly flaunt that they are above the law; they are described as at the least, “Undesirable Aliens”.
In view of all the forgoing, our client Mrs. Khana reiterates that the blog against her is defamatory, false, malicious, and libelous and she is warning all those responsible persons that she will file all such necessary legal action such as but not limited to criminal, civil, and administrative against said personas to protect her reputation and honor. No one is above the law!.”
Another entry states: Mrs. Khana vehemently denies that she has been charged with estafa (fraud) in the United States. In fact, Mrs. Khanna was and still is working in the services of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of the United States as an informant and as such she has helped the Government of the United States recover over 800 Million US Dollars from notorious criminal syndicates.”
It goes on to state that the group’s lawyer Gina Garcia is actually facing disbarment charges and that another of the complainants Lucas Licerio had swindled Mrs Khana of at least 30 million pesos by misrepresenting  he had authority to sell Boracay land , free and clear of any and all encumbrances.
“Mrs. Dolly Khana, after she bought the Boracay properties from Attorney Licerio sometime in May 2007, developed the properties, designed and constructed homes and other improvements herein and marketed them all at her sole expense,” the response stated.
On her website, Dolly Khana is described as having moved to the United States from the Philippines as a child and spent most of her life in California.
“Seeking a more relaxed lifestyle, she and her husband decided to move back to her ancestral home of the Philippines. After a visit to Boracay they fell in love with the enticing beauty and warmth of the island and chose to make Boracay their home. “I love Boracay and would like to give others the opportunity to enjoy and benefit from what the island has to offer.” Dolly is also a skilled interior decorator with a fine taste for fusing native and modern trends. Fluent in both English and Tagalog (Filipino), she works effectively with the local construction team in the Philippines,” the website states.
Several of the entries on the local Filipino newspaper sites have come out in support of Khanna and her development work in Boracay.
Several agencies, including the National Bureau of Investigation of the Philippines are reportedly investigating the case.