BOHOL Governor Erico Aristotle Aumentado and 68 other officials have been preventively suspended for six months over the controversial resort built at the Chocolate Hills.
Also read: DILG-led Bohol Task Force starts probe into Chocolate Hills resort
Aumentado made the announcement about his suspension on Tuesday afternoon, May 28, 2024.
He received the order from the Office of the Ombudsman on Tuesday morning.
The preventive suspension stemmed from the establishment of Captain’s Peak Garden and Resort built alongside the Unesco-declared Global Geopark in the town of Sagbayan.
Aumentado said an inquiry on the construction of the resort is still ongoing in the Senate and Congress.
He said the Bohol Provincial Board also conducted its investigation.
Aumentado asked the government workers to continue doing their jobs while he is away.
"Let's pray for a fair and proper resolution of this issue... I shall return," said Aumentado in mixed Bisaya and English.
Chocolate Hills is a Unesco World Heritage Site and a protected area under Proclamation 1037, series of 1997, and Republic Act 7586 or the National Integrated Protected Areas System Act of 1992. (JJL)