Chocolate Hills resort building permit issued because of PAMB clearance, LGU says

The local government of Sagbayan town in Bohol issued a building permit for the controversial resort inside the Chocolate Hills protected area after the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), through its relevant agency, released the clearance that paved the way for its construction.

The Sagbayan government on Thursday told GMA Integrated News’ 24 Oras that there was a presumption of regularity in the clearance issued by the Protected Area Management Board (PAMB), the DENR agency tasked to supervise protected areas, in relation to the Captain’s Peak Garden and Resort.

The PAMB clearance was secured in 2018, based on information provided by the Bohol provincial government to GMA Integrated News. Captain’s Point Garden and Resort became operational in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It is presumed to be regular kasi nagsimula ‘yan sa ibaba, mayroon namang PAMB resolution… na kahit ito’y isang protected area, mayroon namang tinatawag na multiple use zone,” said Felito Pon, spokesperson for the Sagbayan government and executive secretary of the mayor’s office.

(The clearance was presumed to be regular because it went through the process. There was a PAMB resolution… which provided that even if it was in a protected area, there are multiple use zones.)

The Bohol provincial government requested DENR’s action in August 2023 following an investigation by the provincial board, the 24 Oras report said.

It also asked the DENR to revisit policies and guidelines on the construction of structures within multi-use zones in protected areas, but the department allegedly did not respond.

“Since September, wala kaming narinig na update from DENR until na pumutok na naman ulit ito ngayon (Since September, we didn’t hear anything from DENR until the issue gained public attention),” said Bohol provincial legal officer Handel Lagunay.

GMA News Online has requested comment from the DENR regarding the matter.

In its statement issued Wednesday, the DENR said it ordered the resort’s temporary closure on Sept. 6, 2023 and a Notice of Violation to the project proponent on Jan. 22, 2024 for operating without an environmental clearance certificate (ECC).

Amid imminent government action regarding its operations, Captain’s Peak announced late Wednesday evening that the resort was “temporarily closed until further notice.” 

The municipal government, meanwhile, has canceled the resort’s business permit to operate, the 24 Oras report said.

Too late

Both the local governments of Bohol and Sagbayan government said they only learned about the DENR order on Wednesday as criticisms erupted on social media against the resort.

“Noon pa sana, had we known na may temporary closure order pala then we could have monitored the compliance,” Lagunay said.

(Had we known early on about the temporary closure order, then we could have monitored the compliance.)

In an interview with Unang Balita, Pon said the Sagbayan government has yet to receive DENR’s temporary closure order. He added that the resort’s application would not have been approved if the Sagbayan government was duly informed about the matter.

Without an ECC

Resort manager Juliet Sablas said in an interview with GMA Integrated News that the facility operated without an ECC.

“Wala… Iyan ang problema namin na wala kaming ECC. Mahirap ding ignorante tayo na magtatayo ng business… Iyan ang lesson to learn. So wala tayong magagawa sisikapin nating i-comply,” Sablas said in Bisaya.

(None… That’s the problem, we don’t have an ECC. We can’t be ignorant when we set up a business… That’s the lesson to learn. So we can’t do anything but strive to comply with the requirements.)

Action by Congress, DILG

House Deputy Majority Leader Erwin Tulfo said Thursday that the House of Representatives would conduct a motu proprio investigation on the demise of the national heritage site.

Tulfo described the Captain’s Peak resort as an eyesore: “Parang siyang kulugo na tumubo sa mukha mo (It’s like a wart that grew on your face).” 

In the Upper Chamber, Senator Nancy Binay, chairperson of the Senate committee on tourism, has filed proposed Senate Resolution 967, directing the appropriate panel to launch a probe “with the end in view of preserving Bohol’s protected area and major tourist attraction.”

For its part, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) on Thursday said it would look into the accountability of local governments regarding the resort’s operation.

“Should there be neglect of duty or any other irregularity on the part of the officials tasked with protecting and overseeing the area, we will not hesitate to pursue appropriate legal actions,” Abalos said in a statement.

Not the only one

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) recognizes the Chocolate Hills Natural Monument as part of its World Heritage List.

According to UNESCO, it consists of 1,776 mounds which straddle the towns of Carmen, Batuan, and Sagbayan in Bohol Island.

Pon bemoaned that Sagbayan was not the only municipality that has been dealing with the problem of resorts rising in the Chocolate Hills protected area.

“Bawat munisipyo na may Chocolate Hills ay pailalim sa protected area o ng PAMB. Kaya nalulungkot tayo bakit nasi-single out tayo, eh marami naman diyan,” Pon said.

(Every municipality that has Chocolate Hills is covered by regulations for protected areas or by the PAMB. That is why we are saddened that we in Sagbayan are singled out, when in fact there are many similar resorts out there.)

Binay had said another resort, Bud Agta in Barangay Tamboan in Carmen, was “cited by environmentalists for illegal structures near the Chocolate Hills.” — VDV, GMA Integrated News