Gov. Erico Aristotle Aumentado 鈥擯HOTO FROM THE OFFICIAL PAGE OF THE PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT OF BOHOL
TAGBILARAN CITY 鈥� Bohol Gov. Erico Aristotle Aumentado has asked the Office of the Ombudsman to reconsider its decision to suspend him for six months pending an investigation on the construction of a resort within the Chocolate Hills, a protected area and the province鈥檚 leading tourism attraction.
Aumentado, through his lawyers on June 10, filed a motion for reconsideration seeking to lift the preventive suspension order issued against him and for the antigraft office to conduct a fair and thorough investigation.
READ: Ombudsman suspends Bohol gov, 68 others over Chocolate Hills fiasco听
鈥淭his motion aims to protect my rights and ensure that the principles of due process are upheld. The people of Bohol deserve a government that is transparent and just. I am fully committed to protecting the Chocolate Hills, as it truly is a natural wonder,鈥� Aumentado said in a statement.
He said he had no hand in approving permits secured by Captain鈥檚 Peak Garden and Resort in Sagbayan Town, as the resort鈥檚 development started in 2018 when he was still a lawmaker representing Bohol鈥檚 second congressional district.
He also pointed out that he was not invited to or had attended the Protected Area Management Board meeting on July 14, 2022, where the resolution endorsing the development of Captain鈥檚 Peak was approved.
鈥淚t is not fair to hold me accountable for decisions made without my knowledge or participation,鈥� he said.
鈥淭here is no document or act that links me to the approval or support of the resort鈥檚 construction, operation, and expansion. My conscience is clear. I have no hand in that fiasco, whatsoever.鈥� Aumentado was among 69 government officials slapped with a six-month preventive suspension by the Office of the Ombudsman on May 20.
The Ombudsman said Captain鈥檚 Peak was constructed, operated, and developed without the required Environmental Impact Assessment, Environmental Compliance Certificate and Special Use Agreement in Protected Areas from the Environmental Management Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
The resort had been issued mayor鈥檚, business, building, and locational permits from 2020 to 2024 despite its repeated failure to secure permits and clearances from the DENR. 鈥擫EO UDTOHAN听