Banahaw pilgrims warned not to leave lighted candles after praying
LUCENA CITY, Philippines—A volunteer watchman on Banahaw has warned pilgrims visiting the mountain on Holy Week not to leave lighted candles behind to avoid igniting a wildfire.
“With all the dry leaves and tree branches scattered around the allowed area for the pilgrims, starting an accidental fire is easy,” said Archie Malabanan, secretary general of the Ugnayan ng mga Mamumundok ng Banahaw.
Ugnayan is a local group of mountaineers and one of 13 organizations that comprise the annual “Bantay Banahaw,” volunteers tasked to assist Holy Week pilgrims and ensure they stay within the allowed areas or campsites at the foot of the mountain, which was declared a national park and a protected area in 1941.
Mount Banahaw, a traditional pilgrimage site for religious devotees and mountaineers, straddles the municipalities of Lucban, Tayabas, Sariaya, Candelaria and Dolores in Quezon and parts of the towns of Rizal, Nagcarlan, Liliw and Majayjay and San Pablo City in Laguna.
Most of the 2,177-meter mountain, which spans an area of 11,133.30 hectares, remains restricted to the public.
The restricted mountain areas in Dolores town cover Cristalino Falls to Dungaw up to Tatlong Tangke back to Kinabuhayan village, while in Sariaya town, the prohibited areas start from “Pagbuga” site in the village of Bugon and “Dulong Ilaya” in the villages of Concepcion Pinagbukuran and Concepcion Banahaw.
Manny Calayag, Quezon environment and natural resources officer, said the mountainsides in the towns of Tayabas and Lucban are also restricted to the public.
Banahaw’s prohibited areas in Laguna and Quezon sides are all marked with public notices in conspicuous, said Salud Pangan, the protected area superintendent for Mounts Banahaw-San Cristobal.
Malabanan said that despite restrictions and close monitoring, forest fires caused by lighted candles left by pilgrims or irresponsible camping practices by mountaineers still occurred.
Malabanan, a member of Banahaw De Dolores Outdoor Club, recalls one of the wildfires on the mountain in 2003. “I barely escaped death. My knowledge of Banahaw mountain trails saved me,” he told the Inquirer.
Many religious believers would trek to Banahaw, particularly during the Lenten season, believing it is inhabited by heavenly spirits.
For the coming Holy Week, the Protected Area Management Board has promulgated restrictions for religious devotees and mountaineers who annually troop to Kinabuhayan mountain village in Dolores town to pray and camp out at the allowed areas.
Pangan said all Banahaw visitors would be required to register and pay the entrance fee of P20 per head in designated collection and registration areas.
“Camping, picnicking and praying shall be allowed only in designated areas,” Pangan said.
She said policemen and Army soldiers would inspect all bags and items brought in by visitors.
Curfew hours at the campsite and praying area would be strictly enforced after 10 p.m., Pangan added.
She also reminded visitors to the mountain that acts of vandalism, such as picking/mutilating of plants, fruits and flowers, writing and engraving on trees and walls, and altering/defacing facilities, boundary markers and park signs, are strictly prohibited.
She also advised Banahaw visitors not to leave their garbage behind.
“We’ve already installed public reminders in strategic areas and Banahaw entry points in Dolores, Sariaya, Tayabas and Nagcarlan, Laguna,” Pangan said.
Last month, the PAMB for Banahaw and adjacent San Cristobal declared the two mountains as still off limits until Feb. 16, 2015.
The two mountains were both declared protected areas under Republic Act No. 9847. The law was signed by then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on December 11, 2009
Based from the latest study of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Ecosystems Research and Development Bureau, the campsite, worship areas and the common bathing place for devotees in one of the “sacred” rivers in the village had already exceeded their carrying capacities.
Banahaw, which used to be visited by about half a million people during the Holy Week, was sealed closed to the public since 2004 to allow areas damaged by slash-and-burn farming and littering to recover.
Its eight-year closure was supposed to have ended on January 29, 2012.
