00:00 Captain's Peak Resort could face punishment
00:03 because of its operation without an environmental compliance certificate.
00:08 DNR is also looking at other structures and landfills in Chocolate Hills
00:12 if there are sufficient documents and comply with the regulations.
00:16 Sandra Aguinaldo was in touch.
00:18 DNR or Department of Environment and Natural Resources
00:25 is now working on a 150-million-year-old
00:30 tectonic activity on Bohol Island,
00:34 also known as Chocolate Hills.
00:36 The island is known as UNESCO Geopark.
00:40 While the Bohol people,
00:43 who are now a resort,
00:46 declared it a National Geological Monument.
00:50 So, DNR initiated the Season Deceased Order on Captain's Peak Resort
00:56 to guard it and not to open it.
00:59 Although it's in a protected area,
01:01 DNR recognizes that the resort is in a titled property
01:05 and that Captain's Peak is in a multiple-use zone.
01:08 It means that it can be built but it needs to comply with the regulations.
01:13 DNR also clarified that the clearance given by the Protected Area Management Board
01:18 has a condition.
01:19 It must have an Environmental Compliance Certificate or ECC.
01:24 The resort applied for this but DNR still hasn't given it.
01:29 That's why it shouldn't have been given a building and business permit.
01:33 The issue is, does it have an ECC or not?
01:37 That's the issue.
01:39 It's not completely out of the knowledge of the LGU that it doesn't have one.
01:45 The ECC is also included.
01:47 It's the step that should be done while a project is being done
01:51 to prevent the bad effects on the environment.
01:54 Apart from not having an ECC,
01:57 there are other possible violations including the potential, for example,
02:03 for the damage to the environment through the release of, say,
02:08 wastewater and other types of solid waste management challenges.
02:12 In the violation of the resort, they may be fined with prison and fine.
02:17 Minimum of P1 million to P5 million maximum for criminal liability.
02:28 There is an additional minimum of six years to a maximum of 12 years imprisonment
02:38 for putting up structures without the appropriate permits within the protected area.
02:44 We listened to the reaction of the municipality of Sagbayan but they haven't given a statement about this.
02:49 But they said that they haven't received a closure order from DNR,
02:54 which was initiated in September 2023.
02:57 What we need to do is work very closely with the LGUs
03:02 because if someone is giving a business permit,
03:05 we need to confirm that there is a proper permit being in the protected area.
03:13 If the resort is not given an ECC, can it be demolished?
03:18 This is not an illegal occupation. This is a private property.
03:22 If they have the structures that they will put, it needs to be studied.
03:29 But there are other structures and violations in Chocolate Hills
03:33 that the DNR Environment Management Bureau is also looking at
03:37 if there are enough documents and are following the regulations.
03:40 Like Bud Agda in Tambuan, Carmen, Bohol,
03:45 which has a pier and view deck that was built by one of the residents.
03:50 It is still open in 2021 and its owner has issued a skill that they have an ECC and clearance from PAMBI.
03:57 The municipality of Carmen is still checking if this is true.
04:01 The governor will call for a meeting to clarify this.
04:05 If you see the captain's peak in Sagmayan, I think it's the same story.
04:14 You have an ECC, you have a follow-up.
04:17 And then what I am afraid of is,
04:19 I am afraid that the original that was mentioned in the DNR and its private property,
04:26 if you have a violation of the life materials, that is a violation of the policy of PAMBI.
04:36 So again, the problem that we are facing is the actions of the DNR.
04:44 For GMA Integrated News, Sandra Aguinaldo, for Tutok 24 Hours.
04:50 For more information, visit www.gma.gov
04:54 [Music]
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