Police power, amongst the three fundamental and inherent powers of the state, is the most pervasive and comprehensive.[40] "It has been defined as the 'state authority to enact legislation that may interfere with personal liberty or property in order to promote general welfare."[41] "As defined, it consists of (1) imposition or restraint upon liberty or property, (2) in order to foster the common good. It is not capable of exact definition but has been purposely, veiled in general terms to underscore its all-comprehensive embrace."[42] The police power "finds no specific Constitutional grant for the plain reason that it does not owe its origin to the Charter"[43] since "it is inborn in the very fact of statehood and sovereignty."[44] It is said to be the "inherent and plenary power of the State which enables it to prohibit all things hurtful to the comfort, safety, and welfare of the society."[45] Thus, police power constitutes an implied limitation on the Bill of Rights.[46] After all, "the Bill of Rights itself does not purport to be an absolute guaranty of individual rights and liberties. 'Even liberty itself, the greatest of all rights, is not unrestricted license to act according to one's will.' It is subject to the far more overriding demands and requirements of the greater number."[47]
"Expansive and extensive as its reach may be, police power is not a force without limits."[48] "It has to be exercised within bounds – lawful ends through lawful means, i.e., that the interests of the public generally, as distinguished from that of a particular class, require its exercise, and that the means employed are reasonably necessary for the accomplishment of the purpose while not being unduly oppressive upon individuals."[49]
That the assailed governmental measure in this case is within the scope of police power cannot be disputed. Verily, the statutes[50] from which the said measure draws authority and the constitutional provisions[51] which serve as its framework are primarily concerned with the environment and health, safety, and well-being of the people, the promotion and securing of which are clearly legitimate objectives of governmental efforts and regulations. The motivating factor in the issuance of Proclamation No. 475 is without a doubt the interest of the public in general. The only question now is whether the means employed are reasonably necessary for the accomplishment of the purpose and not unduly oppressive upon individuals.
The pressing need to implement urgent measures to rehabilitate Boracay is beyond cavil from the factual milieu that precipitated the President's issuance of Proclamation No. 475. This necessity is even made more critical and insistent by what the Court said in Oposa v. Hon. Factoran, Jr.[52] in regard the rights to a balanced and healthful ecology and to health, which rights are likewise integral concerns in this case. Oposa warned that unless the rights to a balanced and healthful ecology and to health are given continuing importance and the State assumes its solemn obligation to preserve and protect them, the time will come that nothing will be left not only for this generation but for the generations to come as well.[53] It further taught that the right to a balanced and healthful ecology carries with it the correlative duty to refrain from impairing the environment.[54]
Against the foregoing backdrop, we now pose this question: Was the temporary closure of Boracay as a tourist destination for six months reasonably necessary under the circumstances? The answer is in the affirmative.
As earlier noted, one of the root causes of the problems that beset Boracay was tourist influx. Tourist arrivals in the island were clearly far more than Boracay could handle. As early as 2007, the DENR had already determined this as the major cause of the catastrophic depletion of the island's biodiversity.[55] Also part of the equation is the lack of commitment to effectively enforce pertinent environmental laws. Unfortunately, direct action on these matters has been so elusive that the situation reached a critical level. Hence, by then, only bold and sweeping steps were required by the situation.
Certainly, the closure of Boracay, albeit temporarily, gave the island its much needed breather, and likewise afforded the government the necessary leeway in its rehabilitation program. Note that apart from review, evaluation and amendment of relevant policies, the bulk of the rehabilitation activities involved inspection, testing, demolition, relocation, and construction. These works could not have easily been done with tourists present. The rehabilitation works in the first place were not simple, superficial or mere cosmetic but rather quite complicated, major, and permanent in character as they were intended to serve as long-term solutions to the problem.[56] Also, time is of the essence. Every precious moment lost is to the detriment of Boracay's environment and of the health and well-being of the people thereat. Hence, any unnecessary distraction or disruption is most unwelcome. Moreover, as part of the rehabilitation efforts, operations of establishments in Boracay had to be halted in the course thereof since majority, if not all of them, need to comply with environmental and regulatory requirements in order to align themselves with the government's goal to restore Boracay into normalcy and develop its sustainability. Allowing tourists into the island while it was undergoing necessary rehabilitation would therefore be pointless as no establishment would cater to their accommodation and other needs. Besides, it could not be said that Boracay, at the time of the issuance of the questioned proclamation, was in such a physical state that would meet its purpose of being a tourist destination. For one, its beach waters could not be said to be totally safe for swimming. In any case, the closure, to emphasize, was only for a definite period of six months, i.e., from April 26, 2018 to October 25, 2018. To the mind of the Court, this period constitutes a reasonable time frame, if not to complete, but to at least put in place the necessary rehabilitation works to be done in the island. Indeed, the temporary closure of Boracay, although unprecedented and radical as it may seem, was reasonably necessary and not unduly oppressive under the circumstances. It was the most practical and realistic means of ensuring that rehabilitation works in the island are started and carried out in the most efficacious and expeditious way. Absent a clear showing of grave abuse of discretion, unreasonableness, arbitrariness or oppressiveness, the Court will not disturb the executive determination that the closure of Boracay was necessitated by the foregoing circumstances. As earlier noted, petitioners totally failed to counter the factual bases of, and justification for the challenged executive action.
Undoubtedly, Proclamation No. 475 is a valid police power measure. To repeat, police power constitutes an implied limitation to the Bill of Rights, and that even liberty itself, the greatest of all rights, is subject to the far more overriding demands and requirements of the greater number.
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