The case of Chocolate Hills in Bohol, being given an environmental clearance certificate (even if fake), to operate inside a national park and continue doing so despite a closure order by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), is classic evidence of how money can entitle one to operate with impunity– despite the vast power and resources of the government.
The Captain’s Peak Resort inside the Chocolate Hills– situated in the municipalities of Sagbayan, Batuan, Carmen, Bilar, Sierra Bullones and Valencia– is now a hot issue in social media where netizens are questioning the construction of the resort located in the heart of landmark Chocolate Hills.
Philstar.com asked Facebook users of their views on the issue. One said: “There are so many resorts in Bohol, why put another one in the middle of the national park? Let’s preserve the beauty of the hills.
Another claimed “the resort is not part of the Chocolate Hills. Matagal na 'yan [diyan]. malayo sa Chocolate Hills.”
Still another said, "Malayo na po 'yan sa main attraction na Chocolate Hills... ibang lungsod na po pero may makikita ka pa rin na mga hills dahil sa lawak na sakop ng mga hills,” adding that “a Republic Act states that Sagbayan municipality is included in the protected area.”
Warning signs
The Philstar, citing Cebu-based newspaper The Freeman in August 2023, said that Boholanos were alarmed upon learning about the construction of Captain’s Peak in Barangay Canmano in Sagbayan.
"The administrator and sister of the owner, Julieta Sablas, during the interview, said the property was already a titled lot when they acquired it in 2005," the Freeman reported. How can a land inside the protected area be given a title. (Obviously, money speaks.)
"At first, the family tried to go farming, but their efforts were just wasted as the soil around the area is reportedly 'acidic' and could not grow crops, plants and the likes. So, her brother decided to convert the area into a tourist spot, which is now known as the Captain’s Peak resort, with the owner, a seaman, Edgar Buton," the Freeman added.
Municipal Planning and Development Coordinator Maximo Lomosbog said that the development around the protected area had clearance from the Protected Areas Management Board (PAMB). He even claimed that even if Chocolate Hills is within a protected area, “it is mostly privately-owned.” (Tell me how so.)
Alan Dinoy, the municipal engineer, said that he was surprised on discovering that the excavation for the access road between two hills materialized without seeking his office’s approval.
So the paper sought the views of Sagbayan Mayor Junjun Suarez but got no response.
Philstar.com tried to get DENR’s response which said it issued a temporary closure order and issued a notice of violation to Captain’s Peak resort for operating without an environmental compliance certificate.
Last March 13, Wenilyn Sabado, a community journalist affiliated with SunStar and an Aries Rufo Journalism fellow of Rappler, wrote that DENR claimed that said resort was slapped a closure order in 2023 but kept operating. (Again, why is this possible?)
“In the case of the Captain’s Peak Resort, the DENR issued a temporary closure order last September 6, 2023, and a Notice of Violation to the project proponent last January 22, 2024 for operating without an ECC (environmental compliance certificate),” the DENR said in a statement on March 13.
Speaking with Rappler, Captain’s Peak Resort administrator Sablas confirmed getting the closure order but that they were appealing the decision. She admitted they are still in the process of obtaining an ECC.
Protected area
The Chocolate Hills area was declared by the late President Fidel V. Ramos a protected area in 1997.
As a protected area, the government could impose certain restrictions or regulations on land use and development even for privately-owned lands.
The DENR explained that such restrictions shall be detailed in the environmental impact statement prior to the issuance of an ECC, which the resort did not have.
Sablas said the property is in Sagbayan town.
Rappler said UNESCO declared the town as among the locations of the Chocolate Hills.
Sablas said her brother, Edgar Button, bought the 5-hectare property in 2005 before starting development around 2018. About 2 hectares of the lot were made into a resort with a swimming pool and cottages as she asserted that they did not touch Chocolate Hills and that measurement of the plain is within the regulation.
“If you came here personally, we did not (touch the hills) but preserved is as we love Chocolate Hill,” Rappler reported.
Senator Nancy Binay said the Protected Areas Management Board (PAMB) approved the development proposal and issued a resolution endorsing its construction within the Chocolate Hills protected zone in the past two years.
“We want the DENR, PAMB, Bohol Environment Management Office, Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office, and the local government units to explain as to why even with Chocolate Hills’ protected status, construction permits continue to be granted,” she added.
#WeTakeAStand #OpinYon #DENR #UNESCO #ChocolateHills