THE GREATEST MAGICIANS have something to learn from Mr. Mistoffelees’ Conjuring Turn – PRESTO! Now hush… for the hills, at this time, are not alive. With its sharpening silence pervading across digital realms, we turn to ourselves as the voice of the voiceless.
Bohol is a wonder to behold. It is a land that saw conflicting strands entwined together, ultimately forging a grand tapestry of what is to be one nation’s story. Throughout history, the proud province has established a unique identity of its own, pronouncing the raging diversities within its archipelagic terrain. Even amid the number of adversaries testing the strength of her domain, Bohol’s unfaltering resilience forever remained.
“O, yuta kong minahal, your vast beauty is beyond compare”
But what stands prominent within the public eye are the landscapes dwelling across the province. With her crystalline seas, herculean mountains, accommodating locals, vibrant flora and fauna, and the like—the beauty of Bohol goes without saying. As a Boholano myself, I take much pride over my home’s perfect scenery, attributed to how everything is laid down accordingly, like a finished jigsaw puzzle glowing collectively. Rivers belong where they can ramble, eagles belong where they can fly. But you know what doesn’t belong? The eyesore of a resort constructed within Bohol’s UNESCO-declared Global Geopark, the Chocolate Hills.
The Captain’s Peak Resort is currently under fire for constructing and operating its controversial establishment without an approved Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Environmental Management Bureau (DENR-EMB). Lying at the foot of the famed hills in the town of Sagbayan, Julieta Sablas, the resort’s manager and sister of the owner, contended how, even without the ECC, “75% of the requirements” were allegedly already complied with. Moreover, the Protected Areas Management Board (PAMB), along with the 15 of 26 barangay captains of Sagbayan, had permitted their resort to operate. Other than the Captain’s Peak Resort alone, tourist attractions built on the Chocolate Hills, like Bud Agta, and Sagbayan Peak, are also currently investigated by the provincial government.
As of writing, while the DENR has already issued a Temporary Closure Order (TCO) and a Notice of Violation to the resort, a heated debate persists within the digital community, leading us to question how well we truly know this “eighth wonder of the world?” While many of the netizens were against the resort’s operation, some have refuted this, arguing that the resort in question is in Sagbayan—which is outside the Chocolate Hills Complex viewing deck located in Carmen—and therefore not an impediment. Furthermore, others have also contended on how the mentioned complex itself is an infrastructure compromising the state of the Chocolate Hills.
O, yuta kong minahal, your vast beauty is beyond compare. It extends past horizons, leaving many unaware that your wonder transcends what the eye can bear.
Maybe her wide array is to blame, but many have missed seeing the fact that the Chocolate Hills is not confined to Carmen, Bohol alone. Rather, its abundance straddles the towns of Bilar, Batuan, Sagbayan, Sierra Bullones, and Valencia—all of which are under the protection of former President Fidel V. Ramos’ Presidential Decree (PD) No. 1037 and Expanded National Integrated Areas Protected System Act, to name a few. Moreover, the Chocolate Hills Complex, located in Carmen, Bohol, is the only known government-approved infrastructure to reside among the hills, with its management taken over by the provincial government since 2006. As such, marred with viral uproar, the community is up for another dilemma as to who really is to be indicted with such heck of a mess.
Tourism is one of the hallmarks that defines the unique identity of Bohol, more so that the esteemed Chocolate Hills has been imprinted onto its very own provincial flag. The Boholanos’ pride for its UNESCO-declared Global Geopark goes without saying, having attained such a distinction mainly because of its authenticity in the first place: being naturally formed, daubed in a color that changes along the season. Accordingly, the Chocolate Hills must stand as it is in order to maintain its stature that is anchored with her being all-natural. In itself, the hills are already a reverie to behold, further attesting that there are truly some parts of the world that just cannot be tampered with.
Arguably, I see the Chocolate Hills as both my home and my identity. It has sat in Bohol from time immemorial, dwelling in this land with its myriad of hills. Independence is her corner of the sky, per se. Consequently, a discordant establishment, of some sort, would be deemed unimaginable, more so preposterous; as such, I shall forever stand in the preservation of her natural state. This I promise, sa mutya kong Bohol.
Oh! Well, I never! Was there ever a cat so clever as magical Mr. Mistoffelees?
Email me at thebedan_associateeditor@sanbeda.edu.ph