The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the provincial government of Bohol are collaborating on a bill to amend the boundary specifications of Chocolate Hills, the country’s first global geopark.
DENR Central Visayas Executive Director Charlie Fabre said in an interview on Tuesday, July 16, 2024 that the move is aimed at clearing confusion as the temporary closure of the controversial Captain’s Peak Garden and Resort in Sagbayan, Bohol last March has somehow discouraged local government units (LGUs) from issuing permits for new structures in the area.
“The reason we have problems here in Bohol is that local governments are reluctant to issue building permits because they are afraid of violating our regulations,” Fabre said in Cebuano, in an interview with Philippine News Agency 7 on Kapihan sa Bagong Pilipinas on Tuesday.
Fabre said that if the bill were approved, it would limit construction within a 20-meter radius around hills while allowing unrestricted construction on flat land outside that limit; government agencies could then proceed with development aspects in the area.
Fabre added that he was scheduled to visit Bohol this Friday, July 19, to update the province’s Protected Area Management Plan (PAMP) to ensure it is in line with their bill.
The PAMP provides an essential roadmap for ensuring the long-term health of a protected area.
Fabre said they will strive to complete and submit the bill to the DENR central office next week.
He said the Ministry of Public Works and Highways had planned projects in Chocolate Hills, but the agency fears they will end up placing the project in a restricted area.
Fabre told reporters that about 14,000 hectares of flat areas between Chocolate Hills were “not protected and could be titled” by an individual or company.
However, in 1997, former President Fidel Ramos, through Proclamation 1037, declared that approximately 14,000 hectares covering the Chocolate Hills were off-limits to construction.
During Gloria Arroyo’s presidency, it was decided that only the hills themselves and a 20-meter setback from their base would be restricted. This means that the spaces between the hills are available for the construction of structures.
However, the promulgation of the Expanded National System of Integrated Protected Areas (ENIPAS) in 2018 modified Ramos’ proclamation, changing these regulations.
“The area of ​​Ramos is 14,100 (hectares), and the deficit is small because 13,996 (hectares) are provided for in the ENIPAS law,” he said.
(Ramos’ proclamation covers 14,100 hectares; its difference with ENIPAS is minimal, as the latter covers the building restriction on 13,996 hectares of land covering the Chocolate Hills.)
To recall, netizens lashed out at the owners of Captain’s Peak Garden and Resort in Sagbayan town after a video posted by a vlogger went viral on social media. The video showed that the resort was built in the Chocolate Hills Conservation Area in Bohol.
The Office of the Ombudsman has ordered a six-month suspension of Bohol Governor Erico Aristotle Aumentado and 68 other local government officials.
Bohol congressmen also filed a bill last May to expand the membership of the Protected Areas Management Board. CDF
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