• RICHARD T. CABALLERO JR.
The City Government of Bago in Negros Occidental created a Taskforce on Environmental Compliance and Tourism Area Development, which seeks to investigate the environment compliance certificates (ECC) of mountain resorts in the city.
The newly established task force was composed of local and national agencies concerned and tasked to institutionalize coordination between businesses and agencies, ensure that all resorts have complied with the environmental laws and regulations, and accelerate the development of ecologically sound and culturally vibrant destinations.
The creation was made by virtue of Executive Order No. 35, series of 2025, issued by Mayor Marina Javellana-Yao, which was triggered by the discovery of two mountain resorts in Barangay Mailum.
According to Bago City Environment Management Office (CEMO) Vicente Mesias, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources had already ordered the stoppage of operations of the Balaan Hills resort due to the absence of an ECC from their office.
Meanwhile, the Mailum Falls Ecopark, which was said to have complied with all the required ECCs, was ordered by the authorities to cease operations due to earth-moving activities as part of their expansion efforts, however, these works are not included in the original ECC issued to them in 2013.
“The Mailum Falls had already complied with the cease and desist order; they had already stopped their operations,” he said.
He added that the investigation for the two resorts arose from the complaints of the Pata-an Irrigators Association and the Mailum Bukidnon Tribe on the construction activities conducted at the Mailum Falls and Ecopark, which caused flooding in the lower portion of the community.
The task force is now set to investigate other resorts in the city to ensure that all operating resorts have complied with the environmental requirements.*
