Dumaluan told Ombudsman he had ECC for resort bldgs.

Panglao Mayor Doloreich Dumaluan had declared under oath that he had been issued an environmental compliance certificate (ECC) for his controversial three-storey building and restaurant in Barangay Bolod, Panglao town, and even had photocopies to prove it.

Documents obtained by the Times showed that this was contrary to what acting Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Regional Director Alan Arranguez stated in a cease and desist order (CDO) he issued to the mayor last June 21. Aside from the CDO, Arranguez also imposed a P50,000 fine on Dumaluan for violating environmental laws including the construction of his building without an ECC. The mayor however managed to stall the CDO after he filed a motion for reconsideration. Dumaluan however declared in a counter-affidavit submitted to the Ombudsman that he had been issued an ECC to both the new building and the restaurant by the DENR.

The counter-affidavit, dated Dec. 9, 2005 , was notarized by lawyer Zotico Ochavillo and submitted to the Ombudsman Visayas on Dec. 15, 2005 . It was presented to the Ombudsman in response to the graft cases filed against him by Panglao Councilors Cerino Hormachuelos, Telesforo Mejos, Venzencio Arcamo and Dennis Hora. “That when I constructed subject restaurant, I was ISSUED an (ECC) by the DENR after its agent conducted an ocular inspection of the proposed construction, machine copy of said ECC is hereto attached as Annex “A” and “B”, respectively of this counter-affidavit and I was issued a Building Permit by the Building Official of our municipality, machine copy of said permit is hereto attached as Annex “C”, Dumaluan said in paragraph 3.b. of his five-page counter-affidavit.

In paragraph 4.a., the mayor also insisted that his three-storey 22-room building in Bolod was issued an ECC by the DENR. maluan similarly declared under oath that his restaurant did not violate any ordinance “or any provisions of the Water Code of the Philippines because the same is NOT WITHIN the 20-meter public easement”. “That being the incumbent Local Executive of the municipality of Panglao , Bohol , I am mandated by law to execute pertinent laws within my municipality and I have DONE this responsibility to the best of my knowledge and ability,” Dumaluan stressed in his notarized affidavit.

In his CDO, Arranguez however found Dumaluan to have violated the provisions of PD 1586 otherwise as the Philippine Environmental Impact Statement System Act that provides that any person who will undertake a project should secure an ECC “prior to its implementation”. Aside from the CDO and the P50,000 fine, Arranguez also suspended the processing of Dumaluan's ECC application.

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