ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider 'Kulugo sa mukha': House to probe 'ugly' resort in Bohol's Chocolate Hills 

'Kulugo sa mukha': House to probe 'ugly' resort in Bohol's Chocolate Hills 

Published Mar 14, 2024 09:49 am

At A Glance

  • House Speaker Martin Romualdez has ordered an investigation into the construction and operation of a resort smack dab in the middle of Bohol's famous Chocolate Hills, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
  • UNESCO stands for United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. The resort in question is called Captain's Peak Resort.
  • ACT-CIS Party-list Rep. Erwin Tulfo described the resort as like a wart on a person's face. 

chocolate hills resort .jpgCaptain's Peak Resort in Bohol's famous Chocolate Hills

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

No less than House Speaker Martin Romualdez has ordered an investigation into the construction and operation of a resort smack dab in the middle of Bohol’s famous Chocolate Hills, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site. 

This was bared Deputy Majority Leader for Communications ACT-CIS Party-list Rep. Erwin Tulfo Thursday, March 14 during a press conference in the House of Representatives.  

“We are set to file on Monday a motu propio inquiry regarding that matter. Hindi rin po nagustuhan ng House leadership po iyon (The House leadership didn't like it). I’ve been communicating with the Speaker," Tulfo told reporters. 

UNESCO stands for United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. The resort in question is called Captain's Peak Resort. 

“Number one, iyon po ay dineklara ng National Heritage. Kahit ano pa hong palusot, daldal po ng daldal sa social media, iyong kanilang manager...eh sinasabi niya hindi naman daw nila ginalaw iyong Chocolate Hills,” he said. 

(Number one, the site has been declared as National Heritage. So whatever excuse or social media post the resort manager makes...she's saying that the Chocolate Hills weren't touched.) 

“Nasa gitna sila ng dalawang hill, sinira ho nila iyong view....Pangit na hong tingnan...Pag nasa aerial shots ka, ang pangit din, para siyang kulugo, di ba? Tumubong kulugo sa mukha mo. OK, so ang pangit ho eh kahit ano hong palusot,” an irate Tulfo said. 

(They're in the middle of two hills, they ruined the view...it's now ugly to look at...it's also ugly in the aerial shots, it's like a wart, right? A wart that grew on your face. It's ugly and there's no excuse for it.) 

He says the Speaker wants to know who are responsible for allowing the resort to open and operate in Chocolate Hills. He noted that the local government unit (LGU) and concerned officials must have been aware of the construction and operation of the resort. 

“Ano hong ginawa ng LGU? Kaya hindi ho nila puwedeng hindi alam…ang dami pong sisisihin diyan eh, pati iyong provincial government. Akalain mo nag-party pa pala sila kung hindi ba naman mga luko-luko,” added Tulfo. 

(What has the LGU done? They cannot claim ignorance...there's a lot of blame to be given, even to the provincial government. 

(He also noted that the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and its field personnel also have a lot of explaining to do. Can you believe that a party was even thrown there, those fools.) 

'Alarming and disturbing' 

Meanwhile, the chairman of the House Committee on Tourism, Romblon lone district Rep. Eleandro Jesus Madrona, wasn't thrilled by the presence of the resort in Chocolate Hills either. 

"I find the case of the Captain’s Peak Resort built within the protected area of the Chocolate Hills in Sagbayan, Bohol to be alarming and disturbing," Madrona said. 

"As reported, this resort has managed to operate despite the absence of an Environmental Compliance Certificate and a Temporary Closure Order last September 6, 2023. I understand that as we speak, the DENR as well as the provincial government of Bohol had already investigated this matter and that they have their official findings on this case," he said. 

"It will be best if the findings and recommendations of these investigations will be taken into account first. Therefore, we look forward to hearing in full detail as to exactly what these findings and latest updates are," he noted.

Related Tags

Chocolate Hills Martin Romualdez Erwin Tulfo UNESCO
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.