The country’s anti-graft watchdog has dismissed a Bohol mayor and more than a dozen government officials for allowing the construction and operation of an illegal resort within the famed Chocolate Hills, dealing the harshest penalty yet in a controversy that exposed regulatory failures at one of the nation’s premier natural landmarks.
The Office of the Ombudsman terminated Sagbayan Mayor Restituto Suarez III alongside 17 national and local officials, stripping them of retirement benefits and barring them permanently from government service.
The sanctions follow a 20-month investigation into Captain’s Peak Garden and Resort, which operated without required permits in the protected geological formation that draws hundreds of thousands of tourists annually.
The dismissals target Mayor Suarez, Zoning Administrator Maximo Lomosbog, Municipal Building Official Alan Dinoy, and other officials after they were found liable over the construction of Captain’s Peak Resort in the Chocolate Hills, which went viral on social media in March 2024.
Captain’s Peak started operations in 2019. Prior to the controversy which started in March 2024, the DENR already issued a temporary closure on the resort in September 2023, but enforcement proved ineffective as the facility continued welcoming guests.
The Ombudsman found the resort operated from 2020 to 2024 without essential environmental clearances including Environmental Impact Assessments, Environmental Compliance Certificates, and Special Use Agreements required for activities within protected areas.
LGU permits for business operations and construction were similarly absent, investigators determined.
What transformed a regulatory oversight into a national controversy was a video posted on Facebook on March 13, 2024 that showed resort structures nestled directly among the Chocolate Hills’ distinctive cone-shaped limestone formations.
Public outrage erupted as Filipinos shared images of what many viewed as desecration of a natural wonder.
The viral exposure forced Captain’s Peak Resort to temporarily shut down operations on March 14, with resort manager acknowledging the closure after the resort’s business permit was revoked.
The Chocolate Hills enjoy layered protection under Philippine environmental law.
UNESCO named the hills a National Geological Monument in 1988.
In 1997, President Fidel V. Ramos designated them a National Geological Monument and Protected Landscape.
The formation gained additional recognition when Bohol island became the Philippines’ first UNESCO Global Geopark in 2023.
Despite these designations, private owners of land in the Chocolate Hills are still recognized although their usage is restricted and regulated, creating enforcement challenges that the Captain’s Peak case exposed.
The Ombudsman’s investigation revealed systematic breakdowns in oversight mechanisms.
Fourteen members of the Protected Area Management Board Technical Working Group, including regional environment director Paquito Melicor, received dismissal orders for failing to prevent unauthorized development.
Twenty-two barangay captains who served on the management board received six-month suspensions for simple misconduct, while the Ombudsman issued reprimands to several Executive Committee members from 2018-2022, including Bohol Governor Enrico Aristotle Aumentado.
Earlier this year, 69 officials including Governor Aumentado received six-month preventive suspensions as the investigation proceeded.
Aumentado has characterized himself as collateral damage in the affair.
The property was first listed in Bohol’s Register of Deeds on August 28, 1996 – a year prior to the Ramos declaration protecting the hills.
The land was acquired by the resort owners in 2005, predating some protective designations but not exempting development from environmental review.
Resort management has maintained the facility provides economic opportunities for Bohol while offering sustainable tourism experiences.
However, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources confirmed Captain’s Peak was operating without Environmental Compliance certificates required for any commercial development in protected areas.
Tourism contributes roughly 8.6% of Philippines gross domestic product, with Bohol ranking among the country’s top destinations alongside Palawan and Boracay.
The Chocolate Hills alone attract over 300,000 visitors annually, providing livelihoods for thousands of families through hotels, restaurants, and tour operators.