More than a lack of permits, the controversial resort in the protected Chocolate Hills heritage site may have breached more laws, which a newly formed task force of the Department of the Interior and Local Government is now investigating.
Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos on Saturday said the DILG is deeply concerned about the construction of the Captain’s Peak Resort, including the culpability of local government officials who issued permits for its construction.
“We have mobilized a special investigation team to swiftly ascertain any liabilities of local officials in this matter,” Abalos said.
Environment Secretary Toni Yulo Loyzaga, meanwhile, said the government would likely close all private establishments in the tourist spot. She said the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, or DENR, would not single out Captain’s Peak.
“All the private structures should be removed, and the resorts operating without an environment compliance certificate, or ECC, closed. We have an EEC on wheels in Siargao because there are over 1,000 establishments there. About 900 of them have no ECC,” Loyzaga said.
“It’s not whether they were not given a copy; I think they know at the local level what the requirements are that need to be fulfilled before they can be issued a building permit in a protected area,” she said, referring to the municipality of Sagbayan, Bohol’s claim that it did not receive a copy of the temporary closure order issued by her department.
Loyzaga said the DENR learned that Captain’s Peak Resort was first granted a building permit by the LGU in 2020.
At the time, according to Loyzaga, the LGU already knew the resort didn’t have an ECC.
“I think they knew that the resort had not applied for an ECC. So, the local government continued to issue permits. I think they knew that while the proponents of the project were building all of this, they had not applied for an ECC,” she said.
She admitted that better coordination with local governments, regional offices, and other stakeholders is needed. “An evaluation of systems and personnel is currently being done,” she said.
Ground teams up for changes
“It will result in some changes in the lineup of team members on the ground,” Loyzaga said.
The Bohol natural wonder is a World Heritage Site cloaked with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization or UNESCO.
Abalos warned that local officials found complicit or negligent will face legal action. “These officials may be suspended or dismissed,” he said.
“We will continue to uphold accountability and integrity in public service,” he added.
The DENR assessed that the project committed many other violations of environmental laws.
DENR details failures
“They were able to discharge water without a permit; there is a corresponding fine for failure to register as a hazardous waste generator,” DENR Undersecretary for Field Operations Juan Miguel Cuna said.
Cuna said operating without an ECC was not the resort’s only violation.
“The E-NIPAS (Expanded National Integrated Protected Area System Act) imposes a fine of P1 million to P5 million and imprisonment of from 6 to 12 years for putting up structures without permits within a protected area. There are also administrative fines from P50,000 up to P5 million,” Cuna said in a virtual press briefing over the weekend.
DENR personnel who inspected the resort last Thursday found the establishment also used a deep well.
“We checked with the National Water Resources Board if Captain’s Peak had obtained a permit for this or if it had a pending application. The agency issued a certification that it doesn’t have a permit and neither did it have an application,” Cuna said.
