The Office of the Ombudsman is mulling a probe on a controversial resort within the Chocolate Hills protected area in Bohol.
Meanwhile, the Department of the Interior and Local Government hassaid it would look into the accountability of local governments regarding the resort’s operation.
Legislative inquiries were also sought following the breakout of the Captain’s Peak Garden and Resort controversy.
Senator Nancy Binay said “it is not right that nobody should be held accountable” for the establishment of a swimming pool and other structures in the famous Chocolate Hills.
In a related development, a Catholic bishop encouraged the faithful to protect Bohol province’s “unique gifts” following the controversy surrounding a resort built within the iconic Chocolate Hills.
The National Geographic in 2016 listed the Chocolate Hills among 19 ofthe most wild and beautiful places in the world, describing it as “amystery of nature.”
In 2023, Bohol was recognized as the Philippines’ first global geoparkby the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
Ombudsman Samuel Martires declined, however, to comment further on the issue, saying that the information on hand by his office was still under review.
“There were some names given to me that’s why we’re looking into it. I handed it to investigators to look into. If we feel that we have to investigate this motu proprio, then we will investigate,” Martires said in Filipino in an interview with radio network dzBB.
Martires pointed out there was already a small house at the Chocolate Hills before it was declared as a protected area in 1997.
Proclamation 1037, issued by the late President Fidel Ramos on July 1, 1997, designated the Chocolate Hills as a National Geological Monument and Protected Landscape.
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said in a statement Wednesday that if a parcel of land was titled prior to Proclamation 1037, then “the rights and interests of the landowner will generally be recognized and respected.”
“However, the declaration of the area as a protected area may impose certain restrictions or regulations on land use and development within the protected area, even for privately owned lands,” the DENR added.
In a statement, the DENR said it issued a temporary closure order in September 2023 as well as a violation notice in January 2024 against the resort located in Barangay Libertad Norte, Sagbayan.
However, both the Sagbayan municipal government and the Bohol provincial government have said that they only learned about the DENR order last Wednesday.
The Sagbayan local government has said it issued a building permit for the resort inside the Chocolate Hills protected area after the Protected Area Management Board (PAMB), an agency under the DENR, released the clearance that paved the way for its construction.
Captain’s Peak Garden and Resort announced late Wednesday evening that it would temporarily close the facility.
It was also reported that the Sagbayan government has canceled the resort’s business permit.
“The extent of the environmental degradation is simply unacceptable,” said Binay, chairperson of the Senate committee on tourism.
The senator bewailed that government agencies involved in allowing the construction of a facility on a declared Protected Area have been pointing fingers at each other instead of owning up.
“Nobody wants to take responsibility among those agencies directly involved in permitting the construction of a resort in Chocolate Hills,” said Binay.
This is despite several memorandums on the non-compliance, notices of violations, closure orders, and cancellation of business permits imposed on Captain’s Peak Resort that have been reported.
Based on documents obtained by her office, she pointed out that the resort started its application in 2015.
“So, I am wondering how come that for the past six years, the permits got through and proceeded with the construction, which should not have been allowed in the first place,” Binay said.
Apparently, Binay said the local government admitted it was only this last March 13 that the DENR advised the resort to “voluntarily undergo a temporary closure.”
“So, we can see here the lax enforcement and the term ‘voluntary closure’ means ‘optional,’ Binay said, which means the resort has a choice not to stop its operations.
The DENR said in a statement that the temporary closure order was issued last September 2023 followed by a notice of violation in January 2022 because the resort failed to secure an environmental compliance certificate from the agency.
Captain’s Peak Resort became a trending topic on social media this week as netizens complained that it ruined the natural beauty of Chocolate Hills, which was declared as a global geopark by UNESCO.
Editor’s Note: This is an updated article. Originally posted with the headline “Binay: Someone must be held accountable for messing with Chocolate Hills”