By Junex Doronio
MANILA — Outraged by the apparent desecration of the world-famous Chocolate Hills in Bohol, House Deputy Majority Leader Erwin Tulfo on Friday (15 March 2024) exposed that there are two more resorts within the protected area.
Tulfo, a former hard-hitting journalist who’s now a representative of ACT-CIS party-list, sounded the alarm about the resort construction within the protected natural monument in his latest Facebook post.
“BUKOD SA CAPTAIN’S PEAK RESORT MAY 2 RESORT PA SA CHOCOLATE HILLS…SAGBAYAN PEAK AT LA BATIANG RESORT. GRABEH, PINAGHATI-HATIAN NA NILA ANG CHOCOLATE HILLS,” Rep. Tulfo wrote on his Facebook account.
On Friday, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) also asked the Municipality of Sagbayan why it had allowed the construction of Captain’s Peak Resort which has no environmental clearance certificate (ECC).
The Municipality of Sagbayan claimed that it did not receive a copy of the temporary closure order issued by the DENR that led to the issuance of a business permit in January.
“The issue is does it have an ECC or not. It’s not whether hindi naman kami nabigyan ng kopya. Alam naman po siguro natin at the local level kung ano ang kailangan masubmit bago mag issue ng isang building permit sa protected area,” DENR Secretary Toni Yulo Loyzaga pointed out in a virtual press conference.
(el Amigo/MNM)
