AT LEAST two of the eight of the municipal mayors being suspended have voiced their sentiments, saying the suspension is unfair.
At least five barangays in the towns of Batuan and Carmen, who are members of the Protected Area Management Board (PAMB) for Chocolate Hills also expressed the same in separate interviews.
Carmen Mayor Conchita T. delos Reyes said she is considering filing of a motion for reconsideration thru her lawyers.
“I was shocked,” when served with order of suspension for six months without pay by the personnel of the Ombudsman, Delos Reyes, who is on first term as mayor, said.
The same is true with Batuan Mayor Atty. Antonino M. Jumawid when interviewed separately. Jumawid is in his last term as mayor.
Along with Delos Reyes and Jumawid being suspended were Clarin Mayor Eugene Ibarra, Catigbian Mayor Elizabeth Mandin, Bilar Mayor Norman Palacio, Sagbayan Mayor Jun Suarez, Valencia Mayor Dionisio Neil Balite and Sierra-Bulones Mayor Michael Doria.
Delos Reyes lamented that why include her in the suspension when her office has nothing to do with the Captain’s Peak resort in nearby town of Sagbayan. “Wa ‘ta kasabot,” she said. (We don’t understand it).
She said that it should have been the Department of the Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to answer the mess that the Captain’s Peak resort generated.
Carmen town is operating a viewing deck owned by the provincial government under an agreement with 70% and 30% of the net income of the Cholate Hills complex go to Carmen and provincial government, respectively.
She said that the law on the protected area, like the Chocolate Hills, must be amended to suit the needs and protect and respect the rights of the landowners.
Jumawid hit the suspension as a form of injustice and unreasonable on his part since there was no thorough investigation. Why include Batuan when it is not part of the Sagbayan town where the Captain’s Peak resort is situated.
He also decried the DENR’s action of sending letters, warning the residents who erected structures without the required Environmental Clearance Certificate (ECC) since the entire territory of Batuan is under the protected area.
He said that those houses were already built when there was no tourism and law on protected area, yet. This is as if the government is depriving the people of the lands which is unconstitutional without just compensation.
He said that he is with the idea of tinkering the law on protected areas. He said that Congresswoman Alexie B. Tutor has already started to consider this.
As this developed, Mayor Jumawid said that awareness drive on the importance of the environmental protection and preservation must continue to guide the people. (rvo)
