CAPTAIN’S PEAK RESORT in Sagbayan, Bohol — SCREENGRAB FROM REN THE ADVENTURER

THE HOUSE Speaker has ordered a congressional probe into the operations of a resort at Chocolate Hills in Bohol, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and protected area, Party-list Rep. Erwin Tulfo said on Thursday.

“We are set to file on Monday a moto proprio inquiry regarding that matter,” Mr. Tulfo told a media conference, citing a directive from Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez.

In a statement released earlier this week, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said that it already issued a temporary closure order for the resort on Sept. 6 last year and that a notice of violation for operating without an environmental compliance certificate was served last January.

“What I don’t understand is who gave the building permit,” Mr. Tulfo said. “I say this because you cannot construct any buildings in the Philippines without a permit from the LGU (Local Government Unit).”

He said that accountability for the construction and operation of the resort should extend to Bohol’s provincial government and the DENR. “If it’s a heritage site, a tourist attraction, then there must be park rangers patrolling the area. The question now is: Where were the park rangers?”

The House will include in its probe the Land Registration Authority since the land also needs to be titled before the resort’s construction. Mr. Tulfo expressed disbelief that a title was issued for the area between the mounds of the Chocolate Hills.

Senator Maria Lourdes Nancy S. Binay, who heads the Senate tourism committee, filed on Wednesday Senate Resolution No. 967, seeking a similar investigation. — Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio

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