Nancy Binay: Temporary closure of Chocolate Hills resort won't reverse environmental damages
Senator Maria Lourdes Nancy Binay said on Friday, March 15, that the temporary closure of the controversial resort in the Chocolate Hills in Bohol won’t reverse the environmental damages that was already inflicted in the protected area.
“The temporary closure does not remedy anything or reverse damages done to the environment. It is very clear that there were infractions and willful violations of law in all levels,” Binay said in a statement.
“The extent of environmental degradation is simply unacceptable—hindi pwedeng walang accountable dito (Somebody should be accountable here),” the senator stressed.
Binay, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Tourism, earlier filed a resolution seeking into the construction of the Captain’s Peak Garden and Resort in Chocolate Hills, a famous tourist spot in Bohol that has been declared by the government as a protected area.
This prompted government action regarding its operations and eventually forced the resort to temporarily close its operations starting Thursday, March 14.
While there have been many reports and memorandum orders about the resorts non-compliance on government environmental laws have surfaced and the closure orders, cancellation of business permits have been imposed, Binay noted that some officials have clearly evaded responsibility.
“Walang gustong umako ng kasalanan, at medyo nagtuturuan na at naghuhugas ng kamay ang mga ahensyang directly involved in allowing the construction of a resort at Chocolate Hills (No one wants to take the blame, and the agencies directly involved in allowing the construction of a resort at Chocolate Hills are already teaching and washing their hands),” Binay lamented.
“Based on the documents, since 2018 pa pala nag-start ang application ng Captain's Peak, kaya nagtataka tayo kung bakit sa loob ng anim na taon ay nailusot ang mga permits at tinuloy ang construction which should not have been allowed in the first place (Captain's Peak application started in 2018, so we wonder why within six years the permits slipped through and the construction continued which should not have been allowed in the first place,” the senator pointed out.
Apparently, the senator also noted, that the Sagbayan LGU admitted that it was only this Wednesday, March 13 that the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) adviced the resort to “voluntary undergo a temporary closure.”
“So, makikita nating malamya ang enforcement at yung term na (So we can see that the enforcement of laws was lacking because the term) 'voluntary closure' means 'optional', ibig sabihin (which means) the resort has a choice not to stop its operations,” the lawmaker lamented.
The DENR had said it issued a temporary closure order in September 2023 and a violation notice in January 2024 against the resort’s owners, as they also claimed that Captain’s Peak has been operating without an environmental clearance certificate (ECC).
The Department of Tourism (DOT), meanwhile, said it has been coordinating with the Bohol provincial government since August 2023, raising their concerns about the construction of the resort within the area.