THE destruction of the Chocolate Hills has already begun in the late 1990s, Punong barangay Leo Bolair of La Paz, Carmen town, bared in an exclusive interview.
He said that a certain hill near the national highway reportedly owned by the Torrefranca family was bulldozed to give way for a planned cockpit building during the late ‘90s. This he knew since he was a barangay councilor during those years.
But the attempt to flatten the said hill was stopped by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) since the hills still are within the protected area. But the top side of the hills facing the highway was already defaced, he said.
In an ocular visit, trees and shrubs already grow at the said hill but the quarried portion of the hill is still visible at the highway angle.
He said that the fiasco generated by the Captain’s Peak is a wake-up call so that protection efforts would be more serious to preserve the hills.
He said that he favors the plan of Mayor Conchita delos Reyes for an inventory of all the hills located in Carmen, though he did not know yet how many choco hills are situated in his turf.
He said the hills has become the source of the barangay’s income. He said that la Paz, and all other 27 barangays get one percent of the total net income of the Chocolate Hills complex in barangay Buenos Aires.
It is in this complex, where visitors, foreign or domestic alike, visit the world-known tourist spot.
The arrivals average 2,500 per day last year and this year, Mayor Delos Reyes said. The town’s target of P80 million revenue from use of facilities, like entrance fees, of the complex in 2023 was surpassed by P106 million, she said.
This year, the barangay got over P86,000 as share of the revenue of the complex. It received P165,000 for 2022 and 2023, Bolair said. The said fund was then used for the barangay rehabilitation, he added.
In separate interview, barangay chairperson Nila Caduan of barangay Buenos Aires said that the barangay is a recipient of P400,000 as share of the complex operations.
Buens Aires got a bigger chunk of the complex’s revenue than the other 28 barangays since the complex is located here. (rvo)
