THE manager of a controversial resort, built within the protected area of the famous Chocolate Hills, admitted that they do not have an Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).In an interview with radio station DWPM and TeleRadyo Serbisyo on Wednesday night, Julieta Sablas, manager of The Captain's Peak Garden and Resort Bohol said they are aware that the hills are a protected area but also claimed they went through the process and filed the necessary permits for the resort in Sagbayan, Bohol.'We are aware that [the Chocolate Hills] are a protected area, but there are things that had to be done to be given clearance so construction is allowed,' Sablas said in Filipino.'We have our own lapses, particularly with the ECC, as we have yet to process this but with the construction work, we had a permit from the local government unit and the PAMB [Protected Area Management Board].'The resort manager said that the construction of the resort is 'still ongoing' because they only have three rooms so far and they are seeking approval for a 10-room resort.Sablas also clarified that the land they bought cannot be planted with rice and corn and said her brother, Edgar Buton, who is the resort's owner, chose the site for its scenic view.'This is our property that we got in Bohol, we are not from Bohol, but from Mindanao,' she said.Sablas explained that in 2018, the first step for the resort was to propose to the provincial government's PAMB and the barangay (village) captains within the protected area signed their proposal project.She said out of the 26 captains, 15 approved their proposal.She also took a swipe at netizens who criticized the resort's site within the Chocolate Hills, which has been declared as a National Geological Monument by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco), and denied that it is obstructing the view of tourists.'To the netizens, I hope before you comment, ask if we really ruined the Chocolate Hills, because if you are in the area, we did not violate or ruin any views of the Chocolate Hills,' Sablas said.'In fact, we are taking care of the Chocolate Hills.'She said she and her brother are willing to explain in any hearing regarding their resort.Temporarily closedOn Wednesday night, the resort issued an advisory that they are temporarily closed for 'maintenance and environmental preservation efforts.''During this closure, we will be implementing various eco-friendly initiatives to further enhance the sustainability of our resort,' the announcement read.'We are committed to upholding the highest standards of environmental stewardship and ensuring the preservation of the natural beauty that surrounds us.'Sablas said The Captain's Peak Garden and Resort Bohol opened in 2019 without an ECC from the DENR.Mayor to explainDepartment of Interior and Local Government Secretary Benjamin Abalos, Jr., meanwhile, asked the mayor of Sagbayan town to explain why a resort was allowed to be built inside the Chocolate Hills protected area.Abalos told local media in Victorias City, Negros Occidental on Thursday that he has instructed the agency's legal division to write the local government unit concerned.Abalos was in Negros Occidental for the inauguration of the rehabilitation center for drug dependents and the Victorias City Command and Evacuation Center.Abalos noted that netizens were furious on social media because the resort in Sagbayan town was located at the foot of two hills.House probeLawmakers, likewise, condemned the building of the resort with one of them calling to destroy the property.In a press briefing on Thursday, Deputy Majority Leader for Communications and ACT-CIS Partylist Rep. Erwin Tulfo said that House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez has ordered a motu proprio probe into the construction of Captain's Peak Resort in Sagbayan, Bohol.Tulfo said the house leadership did not like what they saw as the Chocolate Hills complex is declared as a national treasure, thus, there should be no development occurring in the area.'The mere fact that it was in the middle of two hills, the view will be destroyed. If you want to see the whole beauty of Chocolate Hills, you need a tower-like building,' Tulfo said.Tulfo said the probe would focus on who gave the permit to build a resort in the area.Not only the local government unit of Sagbayan is at fault, the lawmaker said, but also the provincial government of Bohol as well as the DENR and the Land Registration Authority.'Congress will be busy probably after we get the motu proprio inquiry. We will not allow this to happen, many are now angry,' Tulfo said.Should be demolishedSeparately, Bohol 3rd District Rep. Kristine Alexie Tutor said that the resort should not have been built there in the first place.'It should be demolished, and the construction site should be restored, with costs borne by the owners of that resort,' Tutor said.She, however, will wait first on the results of the intervention that will be conducted by DENR Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga.'If the administrative process does not work, those with proper legal standing can go to court to stop the Captain's Peak Resort and also hold liable the government officials who permitted the construction and operation of that eyesore of a resort for their wrong actions on this matter,' Tutor added.
