The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) on Wednesday, March 13, clarified that it had already issued a temporary closure order as well as notice of violation against the viral resort located at the foot of Chocolate Hills in Bohol.
The three-minute viral video, uploaded by video creator Ren The Adventurer on his Facebook page last March 6, showed a landscape view of Captain’s Peak Garden and Resort located in Sagbayan, Bohol.
This did not sit well with netizens and called out DENR for allowing the establishment to be built in the area.
In a statement, the DENR said it issued a closure order against Captain’s Peak Resort on September 6, 2023, and a Notice of Violation to the project proponent last January 22, 2024, for operating without an Environment Compliance Certificate for the project.
The DENR also said it has already created a team to inspect the resort’s compliance with the closure order.
“As of March 13, 2024, the Regional Executive Director Paquito D. Melicor issued a Memorandum directing PENRO (Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office) Bohol Ariel Rica to create a team to conduct inspection at Captain’s Peak for its compliance with the Temporary Closure Order,” the DENR said in a statement.
The Chocolate Hills were declared as a national geological monument in the country on June 18, 1988.
On July 1, 1997, it was declared a protected area through Proclamation No. 1037 issued by then-president Fidel Ramos.
