CEBU CITY — The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) will probe the presence of monkeys at a construction site in Barangay Sirao in Cebu City.

The "Divine Mercy Mountain for Prayer and Healing" is being built in the mountain village with a huge image of Jesus Christ. 

The presence of monkeys in the area has raised alarm among some residents and social media users.

According to Rainer Manlegro, chief of the Wildlife Monitoring Enforcement Unit of DENR Central Visayas, they are looking at the factors that could have caused the monkeys to appear.

“We need assessment... It seems like its habitat is disturbed. We will check if this is really their habitat,” said Manlegro.

They are also verifying reports that the residents in the area are voluntarily feeding the monkeys.

He added the monkeys were identified as Philippine Macaques, common to rainforests in Cebu.

Meanwhile, the Cebu City government will also probe the issue.

Councilor Pastor “Jun” Alcover, chairman of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development, said he would sponsor an ordinance protecting the monkeys.

“We need to conserve them but we but we can make controlled measures. It is wrong thinking that their habitat is lost, they can live with the community,” Alcover said in Cebuano.

He plans to present the ordinance in the next regular session. The ordinance will include the monkeys' capture, their spaying and neutering, as well as sanctions for those who will attempt to harm or kill them and other monitoring measures.

The construction of the said chapel is also being investigated.

Alcover said the place was built by the owner as a “gift” to the community.