For an independent national environmental protection agency, separate from DENR

SHOCK, sadness and alarm met the horrendous assault on a protected area, the Chocolate Hills, recognized as a geological monument. Unesco recently just provided Bohol the honor as the first geopark in the Philippines.

We are glad the collective voice of protest has been registered by the Senate Committee on Environment and Climate Change headed by Sen. Cynthia Villar, who already filed a resolution for an investigation, while Interior and Local Government Secretary Benhur Abalos has organized an oversight technical team. Nobody is above the law, and that must be executed with diligence without favor to anyone. President Bongbong Marcos has committed at several United Nations meetings to promote sustainable tourism while actualizing our fulfillment of the SDGs 2023 agenda linked to the Paris Climate Accord.