Senator Christopher “Bong” Go has urged authorities to pursue and promote sustainable tourism development and strict compliance to environmental laws to protect the country’s natural heritage sites.

Go made the call amid the growing concerns over the construction of a resort within the Chocolate Hills, a UNESCO Heritage Geopark in Bohol.

As a member of both the Senate Committees on Tourism and Environment, Go said he also supports a Senate inquiry on the matter to ensure environmental preservation remains a priority alongside tourism growth.

While recognizing the economic benefits of tourism, the senator said there is a critical need to balance economic gains with environmental sustainability.

“Ako po'y nananawagan, kung kailangan nating imbestigahan ito, check natin mabuti. Importante po ang pagprotekta sa environment (I urge that if we have to investigate this, let's check carefully. Protecting the environment is important),” Go said in a recent interview.

"Naintindihan naman natin, importante po ang turismo, karagdagang trabaho, at sa industriya ng turismo, malaking tulong po ito. ‘Pag may mga turista, may mga mabibigyan po ng trabaho sa kanilang mga lugar (We understand that tourism is important, additional jobs, and in the tourism industry, this is a big help. 'When there are tourists, there are people who will be given jobs in their places),” said Go.

But the need for sustainable tourism development that strictly adheres to environmental laws and regulations, is paramount.

“Balansehin po muna natin. Gusto natin ang turismo, ngunit (Let’s balance everything. We want tourism but we must) protect environment first,” he stressed.

Go pointed to Boracay as an example, where lack of adherence to environmental regulations led to significant ecological damage.

“Noong una, ‘yung Boracay, maganda. Pero hindi sinusunod ‘yung tamang environmental regulations. So, maraming na-violate. Nakita n’yo, ang dumi, kahit saan na lang ‘yung drainage, pinasara ng ilang buwan (Boracay was a nice place to visit at the beginning. But there were so many environmental regulations that were not followed. So there were violations. You can see it was dirty. It was closed for how many months),” he recounted.

Following the closure and cleanup, Boracay's transformation into a cleaner, more sustainable tourist destination became a positive outcome of the efforts done by the Duterte administration.

The senator also said it is critical to protect the environment as a defense against these and other climate change-related challenges.

"Dapat po, ’yung proteksyunan natin, protektahan po natin ang environment. ‘Yun na lang po ang ating tanging sangga sa anumang pagbabaha o sa anumang epekto ng climate change (We must protect the environment. That's our only recourse against any flooding or any impact of climate change),” he further said.