Bohol to create body to supervise preservation of Chocolate Hills
CEBU CITY – A regulatory body will be created to supervise the preservation of Chocolate Hills in Bohol.
Gov. Aris Aumentado will push for the creation of the body as he expressed dismay over the construction of a resort within Chocolate Hills in the town of Sagbayan.

AUMENTADO (left). (FB)
The regulatory board will be created through a provincial ordinance. It will be composed of heritage advocates and environmentalists.
“The body will be the one to create policies and safety nets for the Chocolate Hills, which is the country’s first UNESCO Geopark,” said Aumentado.
If there will be development within Chocolate Hills, it should go through the body before it will reach the Protected Area Management Board, Aumentado said.
During the Regional Development Council-Central Visayas meeting at the Cebu Capitol on Thursday, March 14, Aumentado said that the approval of the construction of Captain's Peak resort did not pass through the provincial government.
Aumentado said it was the PAMB of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources that approved the construction of the resort.
Aside from Captain’s Peak, the province will inspect areas where there are thousands of limestone mounds to check the possible presence of resort development.
The area where the Captain’s Peak was built is a titled lot. The governor said he didn't know how the lot ended up being titled.
Aumentado said it was in 2018 when the province investigated the construction of the resort. During the course of the investigation, the province learned that the construction of the resort had been approved by PAMB through a resolution.
He said the province did not receive a report from DENR about the existence of the resort until it went viral on social media.
The national government ordered the closure of the resort after it was found out that it did not have an Environment Compliance Certificate.
Aumentado said the province was kept in the dark about the order to close the resort while it was still being constructed as they were not furnished a copy of the order.
The governor said he is open to any investigation to find out how the construction of the resort was approved.
He added that the province will summon the owner of the resort, a retired seaman, to shed light on the issue. “I have not gone to the place and I do not know the owner,” said Aumentado.