Senator wants Chocolate Hills resort demolished

MANILA, Philippines — To prevent more people and businesses from building structures in protected areas, Sen. Nancy Binay reiterated her proposal to have the Captain’s Peak Garden and Resort in Bohol demolished.

Binay made the proposal as the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) continued to investigate the controversial construction of the resort in the heart of Chocolate Hills, a national geological monument, in Bohol.

“Secretary (Antonia) Loyzaga said they are in the process of hearing this issue of Captain’s Peak, but to me – the structure itself, what an eyesore. For me, that structure should really be removed,” Binay said in English and Filipino.

The senator also scored the complacency and negligence of the DENR in Protected Area Management Board (PAMB) meetings, which led to the building of structures in protected areas.

She urged the DENR to have audiovisual recordings of its meetings to avoid confusion and promote greater accountability within the agency.

“Maybe it would be better to have an actual recording. Maybe you could start requiring not just minutes but actual recordings of PAMB hearings. Because if it’s just minutes, it’s not clear what the exchange was, what the explanation was,” Binay said.

She also expressed concern after the Senate hearing on the construction of a resort in Chocolate Hills revealed that the DENR is not privy to some of the details in PAMB meetings because their representatives were absent.

“It is surprising to know that the PAMB conducted a hearing, which is chaired by the DENR director, without an audio/video recording to validate the official minutes of the meeting,” Binay said.

At the same hearing, it was revealed that the PAMB clearance for Captain’s Peak was issued during the time of former DENR Central Visayas regional executive director Gilbert Gonzales, who is now an assistant secretary of the agency.

Gonzales said at the hearing that he was not present at the PAMB meeting because he needed to attend a different event.