NEWS

A mini resort has opened in the middle of Chocolate Hills, proving once again that
nothing is sacred anymore
By: Jazzwin Joy Esposo

In the heart of the famous Chocolate Hills in Bohol, a small resort has opened,
once again highlighting the undervaluation of our natural treasures.

Social media users are taking offense at a viral video that vlogger Ren The
Adventurer posted, showing off the “breathtaking” view of The Captain’s Peak Garden
and Resort in Sagbayan, Bohol, which is situated in the middle of the Chocolate
Hills, a recognized tourist attraction in Bohol and considered one of the Eight
Wonders of the World.

Many people voiced their opinions and displeasure with the resort being built in
the center of the popular tourist destination, saying that the resort is nothing
but an eyesore and is destroying the natural beauty of the hills.

Additionally, some are pointing fingers and criticizing the Bohol local government
and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) for allowing the
construction of a resort in the renowned tourist attraction in the province—
especially considering that Chocolate Hills is recognized as a UNESCO Global
Geopark and a National Geological Monument.
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Following the controversy surrounding the Chocolate Hill resort, which went viral
on social media, the DENR responded by stating on Wednesday that its Regional
Office had previously issued a temporary closure order.

In a statement, the DENR declared Chocolate Hills a protected area following

Proclamation No. 1037, enacted July 1, 1997. For the same reason, on September 6,
2023, the agency issued a temporary closure order for The Captain’s Peak Resort and
a Notice of Violations to the project proponents for operating without an
Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) on January 24, 2023.

The agency further stated that the DENR has already sent a memo to the Provincial
Environment and Natural Resources Office (PENRO) in Bohol, under the direction of
Ariel Rica, directing the formation of a team to inspect The Captain’s Peak Resort
for compliance with the temporary closure order. The DENR has assured the public
that it is evaluating the legality of Captain’s Peak Resort.

To date, the video garnered more than four million views on social media, where
users continue to worry about the gradual ruin of several Philippine tourist
destinations.

Noting that some tourist destinations in the Philippines were reported to be

significantly compromised by infrastructures, such as the infamous photobomb of
Torre de Manila to Luneta Park.
Tourism always has its advantages and disadvantages. Many can stimulate the
economy, but too much can damage the environment and displace the local populace.
Natural attractions have been a victim and are being destroyed by mere capitalism.
Before planning your next trip, ponder how your wanderlust is affecting some of the
natural beauty people aim to preserve.

https://pop.inquirer.net/358664/a-mini-resort-has-opened-in-the-middle-of-
chocolate-hills-proving-once-again-that-nothing-is-sacred-anymore

Protect Chocolate Hills from development, Bohol official urges DENR

By: Leo Udtohan

TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol, Philippines — A Bohol Provincial board member, Jamie

Aumenado Villamor, is urging the Department of Environment and Natural Resources
(DENR) to stop the construction of structures within the vicinity of the Chocolate
Hills to help preserve the province’s major tourist attraction spanning at least
six towns.

Villamor, a lawyer and the chair of the provincial board committee on environment,
said there should be no room for ambiguity in the guidelines set by DENR’s
Protected Area Management Board (PAMB).

“The DENR-PAMB, in consultation with stakeholders, must address the ambiguity of

the rules and guidelines in the development and management of our protected areas
to ensure long-term protection and conservation,” she said. PAMB, which oversees
the Chocolate Hills, is led by the DENR regional director with the provincial
governor, mayors, and barangay captains in the towns of Carmen, Bilar, Batuan,
Sagbayan, Sierra Bullones, and Valencia as members.

Villamor asked the PAMB to stop the applications for any construction activity in
areas near the Chocolate Hills while the provincial board is discussing amendments
to Resolution No. 5, Series 2012, which guides the ecotourism development and
management of the Chocolate Hills.

The latest attractions — Captain’s Peak Garden and Resort in Sagbayan town and Bud
Agta in Carmen town — became controversial due to the construction of “illegal and
informal” structures, including swimming pools, slides, and cottages that were too
close to the mounds.

Reference:
https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1834578/protect-chocolate-hills-from-devt-denr-told/
amp

COLUMN
Chocolate Hills controversy: The lost culture of stewardship
By Ian Manticajon
In tackling this controversy on the construction and operation of a resort within
the Chocolate Hills in Bohol, it’s quite puzzling that the local government in
Bohol, particularly the provincial government, seems to distance itself from the
controversy and points towards the Department of Environment and Natural Resources
(DENR).

Bohol Governor Erico Aristotle Aumentado, in yesterday’s report by The FREEMAN,

expressed “surprise” at the issuance of a temporary closure order by the DENR
Central Office, which came after a bird's-eye view photo of the resort went viral
on social media. He said that the provincial government had reached out to the DENR
as early as September last year to inquire about the proper action concerning the
resort but received no response until the controversy erupted online.

On July 1, 1997, the late president Fidel Ramos issued Proclamation 1037 which
designated the Chocolate Hills as a National Geological Monument and Protected
Landscape. Under Implementing Rules and Regulations of RA 7586 (NIPAS Act of 1992),
as amended by RA 11038 (ENIPAS Act of 2018), the Chocolate Hills Natural Monument
is established as a protected area.

Section 9 of the law’s implementing rules and regulations (IRR) mandates that a
management plan be formulated for each protected area within one year of its
establishment. This plan serves as the basic framework for managing the protected
area, ensuring that local plans align with it. Furthermore, Section 11 of the same
IRR details the creation and composition of the Protected Area Management Board
(PAMB) for each protected area. It emphasizes the PAMB's crucial role in overseeing
the management and protection of these areas.

The PAMB is responsible for, among other things, the development and implementation
of the management plan. If LGUs proceed with development projects without the
approval or against the recommendations of the PAMB, it would indicate a failure to
adhere to the plan.

Taking this into account, it appears that Aumentado's remarks attempt to deflect
responsibility by emphasizing that the LGU made efforts to seek guidance from the
DENR. That’s either a poorly-constructed excuse or it suggests a worrying trend of
a broader lack of awareness among LGU’s regarding the laws and regulations for
building permits vis-à-vis natural monuments. What they are telling us is that
while they are still seeking guidance from national agencies like the DENR, the
local government of Sagbayan had already approved the resort's construction.

The 1987 Philippine Constitution enshrines the principle that all natural
resources, including land, are owned by the state and that their use and enjoyment
are subject to the public interest and welfare. Yes, private ownership of land is
allowed and recognized, but it shall be viewed within a framework of legal
limitations set forth to ensure public welfare, sustainable development, and
environmental protection. These limitations include land use and zoning,
environmental laws, building code and regulations, and easements and public use.

In this country, we tend to focus solely on private ownership rights, neglecting

their limitations. This is evident even in our own neighborhoods. In many cities
and towns, buildings and other structures are constructed with little to no regard
for easement regulations. Roads, already narrow, become even narrower as private
residents extend their buildings or fences to the very edge of their land
boundaries. This leaves no space for pedestrian walkways, resulting in roads that
appear pathetically ill-designed.

Another symptom of our excessive focus on property ownership is the cumbersome

process of acquiring private land for public use with just compensation. Road right
of way acquisitions often become the most expensive component of public works
projects. These cases frequently stall in courts as shortsighted landowners demand
maximum immediate compensation, failing to recognize how improved infrastructure
and public works could ultimately increase property values, improve traffic, and
stimulate economic growth that benefits the entire community.

How I wish we could develop a stewardship culture among ourselves instead of

clinging to an ‘ownership’ mindset. Prioritizing our private welfare simply because
we have the right to do so, while neglecting the community’s welfare, cannot
continue. This approach not only contributes to the poor design of our cities and
towns but also, as seen in the case of Bohol’s Chocolate Hills, leads to the
destruction of our natural monuments. We are left with public spaces that are
poorly planned and constructed, contrasted with private spaces that are well-
maintained for a fee or out of individual or clannish pride.

EDITORIAL
Editorial: The brouhaha around the Chocolate Hills controversy and Palawan
parallels
By Palawan News

It all began as an enterprising idea from a private landowner who decided to put up
a resort within his titled property nestled among Bohol’s famous Chocolate Hills, a
national park. Going by published news accounts, the owner apparently made an
effort to go through the regular permitting process and was somehow allowed to
construct the Captain’s Peak Resort in the town of Sagbayan over a property that is
privately titled to his name, albeit lying smack in the middle of the iconic
landmark.

The establishment was eagerly operating until a social media vlog intended to
promote it got out of hand and triggered a massive public backlash instead. The
offensive graphic image was that of a large swimming pool in the middle of the
chocolate-colored hills. The question was: why, in the first place, was such an
eyesore allowed to ruin an otherwise pristine landscape that has long become famous
as a national heritage?

It appears that the establishment was somehow allowed to operate despite lacking
important permits, including a mandatory environmental compliance certificate from
the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). At a certain point, the
project even got an endorsement from the national park’s primary policy-making
body, the Protected Areas Management Board (PAMB).

The vlogger’s viral video triggered a blame game among the various government
regulatory agencies that had a role in the permitting process of the resort,
including the relevant national government agencies and the local government.
Figuring out who is to blame for all this hullabaloo is a tall order for anyone who
would even care to follow the news in earnest.

If not for the fact that the issue had trended on social media and triggered a wide
public backlash, there is, in fact, little novelty to this story. A resort in the
middle of a protected area? In Palawan alone, they are a dime a dozen.

The crux of the matter lies in the enforcement of policies that are supposed to be
in place and regulating projects like the Captain’s Peak Resort. In the case of El
Nido, a town that is also a NIPAS-category protected area in its entirety, the
government has been allowing commercial and tourist establishments for the longest
time to ignore a clear set of rules against building on foreshore areas. Only when
it was already too late and the town was already showing signs of ecological decay
did the government step in sometime before the pandemic to order its temporary
closure and rehabilitation, on account of high coliform levels found on its
previously pristine beaches.

The sad reality is that there is weak enforcement of rules that are supposed to
conserve places like Chocolate Hills and El Nido for future generations. It gets
complicated when regulatory agencies interpret these policies in any way, such as
whether an establishment should be allowed to operate ahead of securing an
environmental permit. Good sense dictates that if one is biased towards the
environment, there should be no green light issued to any potentially harmful
project without it completing the permitting process.

In the case of Palawan, we even invented the term “conditional approval” of certain
local permits, which simply meant that there are no rules unless the regulatory
agencies opted to implement them. It is otherwise called laissez-faire governance,
and it is unfair not just to the environment but also to well-meaning businesses
who want to comply with the rules.

Reference:
https://palawan-news.com/editorial-the-brouhaha-around-the-chocolate-hills-
controversy-and-palawan-parallels/