'Policy on 20% use of Chocolate Hills illegal'

As the controversy over the Chocolate Hills continues to rage, an environmental watchdog has joined the fray, describing as unlawful the policy of the Department on Environment and Natural Resources-Protected Area Management Board (DENR-PAMB) that allows the use of 20 percent of the hills for development.

- RIC OBEDENCIO

 

“This DENR-PAMB resolution allowing the development of up to 20 percent of the Chocolate Hills is illegal as it violates Proclamation No. 1037 issued by then president Fidel V. Ramos in 1997, which established the Chocolate Hills and the areas within, around and surrounding the Chocolate Hills as protected areas,” Tagbilaran Baywatch, a watchdog for sustainable coastal development in province, said in a statement.

The DENR-PAMB in 2018 approved Resolution No. 01, endorsing the proposed Captain’s Peak Garden and Eco-park Tourism Resort in Barangay Canmano in the province’s municipality of Sagbayan.

The resolution provides that “function hall and all other infrastructure should be erected and/or constructed within the 20 percent area from the base of the hill, which is considered as multiple use zone following the sustainable infrastructure design in accordance with the guidelines of DAO 2009-09.”

Tagbi laran Baywatch, which is also responsible for blocking the planned reclamation of the city’s narrow sea channel, said the resolution should be revoked by the DENR-PAMB and demanded the permanent closure and demolition of the structures of the resort.

The group also called for the DENR to initiate legal action to cause the demolition of the structures after the issuance of the cease and desist order.