Boracay West Cove Resort, now making waves in the tourism industry as “Pacquiao’s Resort,” will be the object of a congressional investigation for allegedly being constructed in a “no-build zone” atop a coral reef.

In a resolution filed Monday, Aklan Rep. Florencio T. Miraflores asked the House Committees on Natural Resources and on Ecology to investigate the accusations made by local officials in Malay town that West Cove was built in a “no-build zone” on Boracay Island.

Local folk in Boracay have tagged West Cove as “Pacquiao’s Resort,” believing that it is owned by the Filipino boxing idol who is slated to fight Puerto Rican Miguel Cotto in another sensational boxing match in Las Vegas on Nov. 15 (Manila time).

In Resolution 1470, Miraflores said residents and resort owners of the world-famous Boracay island in Malay municipality have expressed strong objections over the construction of the resort on Sitio Diniwid.

“Boracay West Cove Resort is owned by a certain Mr. Crisostomo Aquino who is allegedly a close friend of boxing champion Manny Pacquiao and Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Lito Atienza,” claimed Miraflores.

He said that “despite alleged violations of ordinances barring structures on ‘no-build zones,’ the resort continues to operate even without permits from the municipality of Malay and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).”

Miraflores claimed Aquino had admitted that the resort has a pending application for Forest Land Use Agreement for Tourism Purposes (FLAG-T) at the DENR,” thus, clearly indicating that he is still barred from constructing or operating the resort.

If finally released by the DENR, the FLAG-T permit would allow West Cove to temporarily use a total of 10,586 square meters for tourism for a period of 25 years and renewable for another 25 years.

“The area includes forest lands to be used for bathing, campsites, ecotourism destination and hotel sites which could pose potential environmental hazards and put to waste the efforts and resources of the residents to rehabilitate and save Boracay’s environment,” the Aklan solon explained.

Despite the protest, the West Cove management has already opened the resort to the public.

Pacquiao and wife, Jinkee, visited the place twice in the past. The first visit was when the popular fighter and his wife had an alleged spat, and the second was a few months before Mrs. Pacquiao gave birth to their youngest child, Queen Elizabeth.

While he admitted that Pacquiao is a close friend, Crisostomo vehemently denied that the resort is owned by the boxing hero, stressing that people suspected Pacquiao to be the owner of the place because of the latter’s visits.

Crisostomo and Atienza would be summoned by the House committees to air their side on the issue.