Binay seeks probe on structure at Chocolate Hills

SEN. Maria Lourdes “Nancy” Binay has sought an inquiry on the reported construction of structures within the Chocolate Hills protected area supposedly to develop tourism in Bohol province.

The senator on Wednesday, March 13, filed Resolution 967 seeking a probe as she raised the need to preserve Bohol’s protected area and tourist attractions.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco), she said, has recognized Bohol Island as the Philippines’ first “global geopark.”

She also said the Chocolate Hills has also been recognized by Unesco as a Natural Monument. It was declared the country’s third National Geological Monument on June 18, 1988 because of its “scientific and geomorphic uniqueness.”

Binay wants concerned agencies to explain why they allowed the construction of structures in the Chocolate Hills Natural Monument, a protected area under Republic Act 11038, or the “Expanded National Integrated Protected Areas System Act of 2018.”

According to Unesco, the geopark abounds in karstic geosites such as caves, sinkholes and cone karst, including the coneshaped Chocolate Hills in the center of the geopark.

Binay said the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, local environmental officers and concerned local government units should explain why “construction permits continue to be granted” despite the Chocolate Hills’ protected status.

“We understand the importance of development, but there should be boundaries,” said Binay, chairman of the Senate Committee on Tourism.

“If the DENR continues to issue ECCs (environmental compliance certificates) in the guise of tourism development, I believe they have misunderstood what ecotourism is all about, and they have become complicit [in] defacing a natural monument they’re supposed to oppose,” she said.

Binay said she learned that the DENR’s Protected Area Management Board (PAMB) in 2022 and 2023 approved the proposal and issued a resolution “favorably endorsing the development of Captain’s Peak Resort situated at Canmano, Sagbayan, Bohol, within the Chocolate Hills Natural Monument.”

It was reported that during the inspection conducted by the provincial board, it was found that Captain’s Peak Garden and Resort built cottages and water slides for swimming pool at the foot or sides of at least three hills and that PAMB failed to explain why it allowed the resort to use at least a 20 percent portion of the Chocolate Hills.

It was also reported that another resort, Bud Agta in Barangay Tamboan in Carmen, was also cited by environmentalists for illegal structures near the Chocolate Hills.