HOUSE Deputy Majority Leader Erwin Tulfo found numerous loopholes or deficiencies in the law that allowed the government to be circumvented, resulting in the construction of a resort in the famous and “protected” area of Chocolate Hills in Sagbayan, Bohol.
This was revealed during the hearing on Monday of the Committee on Natural Resources, chaired by Negros Occidental 2nd District Rep. Alfredo Marañon, regarding the illegal construction of Captain’s Peak resort in Chocolate Hills, a national heritage site and declared a geological park by UNESCO.
Tulfo specifically pointed to the negligence of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) for allowing the resort to be built.
“The problem na nakita ng committee na ito, headed by Chairman Marañon, was may loopholes, may gray area. Tama yung sinasabi ni Chair na dapat ito is DENR’s job,” Tulfo noted that Captain’s Peak is situated on what is classified as “alienable and disposable land,” declared by the government since 1920s, meaning it could be sold to private individuals.
Through Proclamation No. 1037 during the time of former President Fidel Ramos, Chocolate Hills was declared a “natural monument” to protect it and prohibit any structures in the area. However, during the time of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, this was amended by Proclamation No. 333, which only prohibited the construction of structures on Chocolate Hills and within 20 meters from the baseline of each hill.
“Yung sinasabi nila, kahit na sabihin nila 1926 pa, alienable, pwede na ibenta, pwede na i-develop yung lugar na yun. Pero por diyos por santo, I mean, national heritage, tourist attraction, lalagyan mo naman kung ano-ano, hindi maganda sa mata, di ba?,” ani Tulfo.
“Dapat kinorect ng secretary ng DENR noon si dating Pangulong Ramos. Nasa kamay nila ito to correct it. Pero hindi lang kinorect. So, may naging problema. Kaya nga ngayon, itong committee ngayon, we heard a lot already. We will do something about it,” dagdag ni Tulfo.
Rep. Marañon and Kabataan partylist Rep. Raoul Manuel agreed, stating that based on their investigation, the DENR was significantly at fault for allowing the construction of the controversial resort despite the legal prohibitions.
“Well, you heard earlier during the discussions that somehow DENR also was remiss on their job. So, yes, DENR was also remiss there,” said Marañon.
According to the lawmakers, from the results of their investigation, they will promptly make recommendations to correct any deficiencies in the law and prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future.
“Yun ang pinupuntahan ng tao. Kaya nga, mabuti naman napatigil natin ito, na[1]national attention, pati ang taong bayan ang sumisigaw na there’s something wrong. Kaya nga, Congress stepped in and we found out and then we were telling them na mali yan,” added Tulfo.
“So, I guess they really have to fix that. Mabuti naman na it was brought to our attention para kami naman sa Congress can fix this yung mga batas kung meron mga gagawin, which I’m sure kailangan i-adjust. Kaya nga, we did this hearing,” said Tulfo.
