The Office of the Ombudsman is conducting its own investigation into the controversial resort in Chocolate Hills, which is a protected area, in Bohol.

In an interview with dzBB on Tuesday, Ombudsman Samuel Martires said their investigators had started their probe on Captain’s Peak Garden and Resort located at the foot of Chocolate Hills.

“Yesterday, our investigators started the probe. One of them went to the office of the executive director in Cebu. The other went to Sagbayan, Bohol and we are gathering documents,” Martires said.

“We are hoping that today the list of the members of the PAMB (Protected Area Management Boards) will be given to us. We will find out the people who issued a business permit and issued a building permit,” he added.

According to Martires, they will also expand their investigation to other resorts found on Chocolate Hills like Sagbayan Peak and Bud Agta.

Martires said they will release an initial report based on the evidence they gathered.

“Hopefully, the case build-up will be finished after the Lenten season and we could immediately begin the preliminary investigation,” Martires said over dzBB.

Martires said administrative and criminal charges could be filed against local officials and the owners of the resort.

“This is a protected area, so this means they have limitations in introducing structures…because it harms the environment. So even if these lands have private owners, they have limits on how they use these structures,” Martires said.

“We see an administrative liability. There is also a criminal violation. So if there are liabilities, the owners of this structure would also be held accountable,” he added.

Martires said they also plan to investigate the resorts that Senator Raffy Tulfo said were established at Mount Apo.

“After finishing the investigation on the resorts in Chocolate Hills, we will also form a team in Mindanao to probe the resorts in Mount Apo,” he said.

In a separate interview, Interior and Local Government Secretary Benjamin Abalos, Jr. said that the six members of their task force have also started their investigation in Bohol.

“Actually, our team has been there since yesterday. This is composed of mostly lawyers and engineers,” Abalos said.

“I think three days ago, I wrote to the mayor to ask him to explain why this happened,” he added.

The Chocolate Hills is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a protected area under Proclamation No. 1037, series of 1997 and Republic Act No. 7586 or the National Integrated Protected Areas System (NIPAS) Act of 1992. Jaspearl Tan/DMS