Bohol gov opposes raps over Chocolate Hills fiasco
TAGBILARAN CITY—Bohol Gov. Erico Aristotle Aumentado would file a motion for reconsideration before the Office of the Ombudsman following its decision to include him among those facing criminal charges over the presence of the controversial Captain’s Peak and Garden Resort within the protected Chocolate Hills area.
Aumentado on Friday reiterated his innocence, stressing he did not violate any law or commit any irregularity related to the case.
He said his legal team has started preparing the appeal in hopes that the Ombudsman would reverse its ruling.
The governor maintained he had always acted to protect Bohol’s natural heritage, noting that when the Captain’s Peak controversy broke out in 2023, he immediately ordered an investigation into the matter.
The Ombudsman’s Aug. 12 decision ordered the dismissal of Sagbayan Mayor Restituto Suarez III, the town’s zoning administrator Maximo Lomosbog and municipal building official Alan Dinoy for grave misconduct, alongside several officials from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Protected Area Management Board (PAMB) for gross neglect of duty.
While Aumentado was not dismissed from his post, he was named in criminal complaints—along with former Governors Arthur Yap and Edgar Chatto—now pending before the Sandiganbayan.
Yap, Chatto and Suarez have yet to issue their official statements.
The Ombudsman also reprimanded Aumentado and other local chief executives for their absences during key PAMB meetings from 2018 to 2022.
The Captain’s Peak resort drew public outrage after viral photos in 2023 showed its facilities—function hall, swimming pool and cottages—built amid the iconic Chocolate Hills without the required environmental and business permits.
Evidence readied
Aumentado said his reconsideration would present evidence proving he acted within the bounds of the law and his mandate as governor.
“This case is far from over,” he said. “I remain committed to clearing my name and ensuring the protection of Bohol’s natural treasures.”
On May 20, 2024, Aumentado and other officials were slapped with a six-month preventive suspension. However, he and the other six mayors were reinstated on July 31, 2024, while other local chief executives and village chiefs were reinstated later in the year.
The suspension came after the resort was built within the protected area in Sagbayan and that its operator was granted a business, building and locational permit by the mayor for the year 2020 to 2024 despite repeated failures in obtaining permits and clearances from the DENR.
Chocolate Hills is the tourism signature of Bohol, protected under the Expanded National Integrated Areas Protected System Act. The mysterious and topological wonder has approximately 1,776 hills that look like chocolates during the dry season. The largest concentration is in the towns of Bilar, Carmen, Batuan, Sierra Bullones and Sagbayan.
