The Office of the Ombudsman and the Department of the Interior and Local Government have commenced parallel probes into the controversial Captain’s Peak Garden and Resort at Bohol’s famous Chocolate Hills.

Ombudsman Samuel Martires and DILG Secretary Benhur Abalos Jr. issued separate statements on Tuesday on their respective investigations and timetables.

Martires said their investigation started last Monday, and he was expecting an initial report from the three Ombudsman investigators now in Bohol, including the list of officials who may have greenlighted the resort’s construction.

“We expect that today, we will be given the list of PAMB (Protected Area Management Board) members, of those who issued the business permits and building permits [to the resort],” Martires said in a radio interview.

Abalos, on the other hand, said the DILG has a six-man investigating task force from its legal and technical division. Like the Ombudsman, the DILG is trying to pin responsibility and culpability on the government officials and resort owners concerned.

The construction of the resort within the UNESCO World Heritage Site, which the Philippine government classified as a protected area in 1997, has caused uproar.

“As I’ve been telling the LGUs (local government units), if you did not do anything wrong, there should be no problem. But we will see if someone needs to be held accountable,” Abalos said in Filipino.

“Those at fault will be charged before the Ombudsman,” he added.

Rep. Erwin Tulfo earlier said that aside from the Captain’s Peak resort, two other resorts, namely, Sagbayan and La Batiang, had been constructed within the famous tourist destination.

The Ombudsman assured that an “expanded” investigation would be conducted to investigate those resorts.

“That one [resort] in the aerial survey that was given to me, you really won’t notice it because it’s the same color as the grass,” Martires said.

“It’s a major headache on the part of the DENR (Department of Environment and Natural Resources) and to the members of PAMB,” Martires noted.

The Ombudsman said officials who allowed the resort to operate may be slapped with criminal and administrative charges, along with the owners of the resort.

Martires said he is hopeful they could move to the preliminary inquiry into the matter after the Holy Week.

The DENR last week said it had executed a temporary closure order against the resort, which was initially issued in September last year.

The Captain’s Peak Garden and Resort was said to be operating without an environmental compliance certificate from the DENR and was, in fact, issued a Notice of Violation by the department last 22 January.

Last week, the resort issued an official statement affirming that its construction plans underwent rigorous scrutiny and received the necessary approvals from the relevant authorities, including the DENR.

“We have complied with all environmental regulations and have taken measures to minimize our ecological footprint throughout the development process,” it said.

The Senate and the House of Representatives have announced plans to investigate the matter.