AMID all the enthusiasm in putting up tourism spots, the local government of Mabini has notably put some brakes against establishments for non-compliance of the legal requirements.
The Office of the Mayor thru its Business Permits and Licensing Office (BPLO) of Mabini has caused the shut down on January 28 of three tourism-related establishments for lack of licenses to operate for months since they opened last year, according to a very reliable source.
The source said that the closing down of the said establishments is to carry out the mandate of the local chief executive so he/she may not be accused of dereliction of duty like what happened to some mayors who were slapped with suspension of six months due to the Chocolate Hills resort which operated with the necessary permits.
Those being ordered to close down are the CampSite, The H.E.A.V.E.N.L.Y Resort, located in barangay Concepcion and Mabini Hills Eco-Park, a barangay Del Mar probably the first time it was clamped down for non-compliance of the requirements.
But for Lakeview Camping Site and Rental (The Campsite) located partly in barangay Cabidian, it’s not the first time it was closed down. It was padlocked by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) sometime in August of 2024 for it could not present either Environmental Clearance Certificate (ECC) or Certificate of Non-Coverage (CNC) to operate.
The Campsite – A Lake View Escape, earlier, has breached the law, Presidential Decree No. 1586, Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Talibon-based Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (CNERO) said.
“You are hereby notified that you have violated the above-quoted law and we recommend for a temporary closure of the tourist/leisure project,” Officer-in-charge Edgar L. Ricafort of CENRO Talibon said in his letter addressed to Ivy Jotojot and Alfie Elquirro, owners/proprietors of the said project.
The Campsite, which is now being closed to the visitors, is also found to have not been compliant of the prerequisites as it has no mayor’s permit issued. This is confirmed by the Mayor’s office.
As spotlight shifts to Campsite and Lakeview Escape, a picturesque natural landscape by the lake/impounding dam of National Irrigation Administration (NIA), the owners vowed to secure an ECC, if not Certificate of Non-Coverage (CNC), according to the caretakers in an exclusive interview.
Section 9 of the said law provides for a penalty of P50,000.00 for each of the violations of the items and cancellation/suspension of its certificate.
The ECC is not a permit to operate, but a set of conditions that must be followed in the operations of the project.
Gov. Aris Aumentado ordered the Bohol Provincial Environment Management Office (BPEMO) to conduct an investigation on the Campsite mess after the vlog featured the said attraction.
The probe found that the said Campsite sits on a 1.5 or more hectares with a tax declaration No. 2016-31-0008-01409 owned by Pablo Tutor, from Abaca, Mabini and administered by Basilio Tutor.
Raffy Jotojot, Jessica Cabases and Alfie Elquirro composed as incorporators of the Campsite, which can accommodate some 100 campers.
The facilities structured inside the area are the following: guard house, mini-restaurant with kitchen, two comfort rooms for male and female, shed house for open dining, a sari-sari store. The Campsite provides tents and other camping gears, all for rent. (rvo)
