A construction for a monastery on top of Himontagon Hill in Loay, Bohol with no environmental clearance from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and building permits from the local government has caused rift with the church and local officials.
“I did not stop the project, it was the DENR for environmental reasons,†Loay Mayor Rosemarie Lim-Imboy clarified.
During the consultative meeting with Gov. Edgar Chatto with provincial heads and mayors held last January 7, 2010 at Bohol Tropics Resorts in the city, Loay Mayor Imboy cleared herself of the issue “that it was DENR who ordered the stoppage of the construction not her.â€
This was confirmed by Provincial Environment Officer Nestor Canda when he was asked by the Governor to comment.
PENRO Canda said as of to date he did not issue any clearance for the monastery. And the matter has been brought to the regional office and from there the sisters were given 60 days to complete the necessary papers but 60 days have lapsed and the sisters didn’t come back as promised and agreed for the deadline for submission.
NO PERMIT
The monastery construction for the Carmelites Sisters, a Catholic religious congregation, was first reported to Provincial Environment Officer Nestor Canda who wasted no time to investigate the matter.
He recommended a cease and desist order after an ocular inspection. It was also further found that the construction had no building permit from the local government of Loay.
Every time it rains, the mud flow goes down and covers a rice fields in Barangay Tocdog Ilaya and the mud from the mountain erodes and flows down the river and the seashore of the town.
On the other hand the proponent now claimed they have CNC (Certificate of None Coverage) issued for the project but hey did not present a copy of the clearance. Considering that the hill is a critical deep steep slope area, the CNC issuance had become questionable. A geological study is necessary to determine the base stability of the soil if it is stable to ensure the safety of life and property considering that they are going to put a big building on top of the hill.
CHURCH vs. LGU
The Mayor also expressed disappointment of church officials, specifically their parish priest, Fr. Blair Sabaricos who falsely attacked her during his homilies regarding the monastery and other issues.
Mayor Imboy confided that she brought the matter to Bishop Medroso, regarding the negative attitude of the priest using his homilies as a medium to malign her. Mayor Imboy said asked Fr. Sabaricos for an open discussion with him if there are issues he wants to clarify regarding her administration.
Things, however, worsened. During the Simbang Gabi Mass different priest from other municipalities officiated the early dawn masses alternately. Before start of the mass the priest include as among their Intentions for the Local Government, particularly the Mayor, praying for the issuance of permit. They alleged that only the signature of the Mayor is now lacking for the construction permit.
WRONG INFORMATION
Mayor Imboy said she just wish the church feed the correct information to the visiting priests and not mislead people.
“All I just wanted is truth and fairness on my part,†Mayor Imboy said.
As of now, there are no pertinent papers to secure permit or nothing is filed or processed in the municipal office of Planning Coordinator (MPDC), Engineers office and the Mayor’s Office regarding the monastery project.
“I am brought up by my mother to give much respect especially to church officials, she (my mother) being a very religious woman. If abiding with the law to protect the interest and safety of our town and our people and the environment is wrong in the eyes the church, then Go forgive me,†Mayor Imboy said. - published by the Bohol STandard
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Topic: Monastery Construction Scandal in Loay (Read 3243 times)