EDITORIAL - Not enforcing their mandate

The hills are alive...with resorts.

In case you haven’t been watching the news recently, a mountain retreat/resort is now getting famous in the news and social media, but not for the right reasons.

Captain’s Peak in Barangay Canmano in Sagbayan town, Bohol, actually looks like a good place to visit. It has guest rooms, a function room, and a swimming pool among other amenities. The only problem is that it is right smack in the middle of the three of the world-famous Chocolate Hills.

Those are the same hills that were a considered a protected area since July 1, 1997 through Proclamation 1037 issued by then President Fidel V. Ramos.

The existence of the resort in that protected area, as well as indications that various government agencies were not doing their job, were actually already brought to light in a three-part special report by The FREEMAN last year.

However, it seems that no action was taken despite the promises made. This issue is only now blowing up after being featured on social media, and now even Congress wants an inquiry into how this happened.

In the first place how was the resort able to get the necessary permits to allow construction there? In the second place why was there no action taken by the environmental office and the local government unit?

This is why many people tend to lose faith in government systems; many government offices or agencies are not able to enforce their mandate, let alone maintain the consistency of their efforts.

What is even more concerning is that this resort is reportedly not the only one in Chocolate Hills. It’s just the one that is more famous than others because it got featured on social media. This can only mean that whatever has been going on has been going on a lot and for a long time too.

And if this is the case in Chocolate Hills then how many more protected areas all around the country are actually home to structures that should not be there. And how many more government offices or agencies are not enforcing their mandate.