A viral post on Facebook claims that the controversial resort in Bohol is actually not part of the Chocolate Hills in the town of Carmen since it is located in another town. This needs context.
While Captain’s Peak Resort is indeed not in Carmen, the area in Sagbayan where it is located is still part of the Chocolate Hills protected area.
Published on March 13, the post said:
“Please think before you click, do your fact checking and research as well. This is not the Chocolate Hills from Carmen but Captains Peak from Sagbayan, Bohol.”
Proclamation No. 1037 issued by former president Fidel Ramos in 1997 declared the 1,776 hills scattered in an area of around 14,000 hectares across the towns of Carmen, Batuan, Sagbayan, Bilar, Valencia and Sierra Bullones as a Natural Monument to “protect and maintain its natural beauty and to provide restraining mechanisms for inappropriate exploitation.”
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), which recognized the Chocolate Hills as its sole geopark in the country, also identified the town of Sagbayan as among its locations.
In 2003, former president Gloria Arroyo amended Ramos’ proclamation to exclude “alienable and disposable lands, flat and rolling lands” from being part of the natural monument, provided that these have a 20-meter distance from the baseline of the hills.
While private groups owning land around the Chocolate Hills before it was declared a natural monument may develop their properties, land use and development within the protected area are bound by regulations and restrictions that would be set in an environmental impact statement (EIS).
An EIS is submitted to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources before the agency issues an environmental compliance certificate (ECC) for a project.
In a March 13 statement, the DENR said it issued last September a temporary closure order and notice of violation in January against Captain’s Peak Resort for operating without an ECC.
Published by FB page Proud Bol-anon (created April 30, 2018 as BOHOL Shout Out), the post has drawn over 20,000 interactions, 11,000 comments and 4,600 shares.
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(Editor’s Note: VERA Files has partnered with Facebook to fight the spread of disinformation. Find out more about this partnership and our methodology.)
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