Mt. Banahaw to remain largely off-limits

By: DJ Yap - 11 years ago

Mount Banahaw INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — A large portion of Mount Banahaw will remain a no-go zone indefinitely, as environment officials study the possibility of expanding the areas covered by the restriction following the March 19 fire that razed 50 hectares of forest.

“In the wake of the recent incidences of fire in Mount Banahaw, the areas declared as early as March 9, 2004, will remain ‘restricted areas’ and may be extended further,” the environment department’s executive director in Region 4A, Reynulfo Juan, said Tuesday.

Juan recently led an inspection of the mountain and expressed amazement at the “remarkable recovery” of portions of the mountain under rehabilitation, except those that burned.

He said he agreed with the observation of the Bureau of Fire Protection that the blaze could not have been due to “spontaneous combustion” of dry grass, considering the cool breeze and moist soil on the mountain.

Juan said he suspected it was done by “humans who insisted on going to the restricted site, who were able to evade the outnumbered rangers.”

The recent fire also razed some 92 hectares of plantation within Mt. San Cristobal, and was the third reported to have hit the Mounts Banahaw-San Cristobal Protected Landscape (MBSCPL) since 2010, according to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

In 2010, two fires damaged portions of the protected area in San Pablo City in Laguna and Dolores town in Quezon, covering a total of 80 hectares.

The Protected Area Management Board (PAMB) has declared certain portions of the protected area closed to the public until 2015 to allow the rehabilitation of its natural resources damaged by human activity.

Unfortunately, people have been able to slip past the cordons into the prohibited area, possibly including the ones who might have caused the recent blaze, the DENR said.

Forester Salud Pangan, superintendent of the MBSCPL who accompanied Juan during the aerial assessment, recommended the “extension and possible expansion” of the restricted areas.

She, however, admitted that it was difficult to enforce the restriction considering the enormity of the area compared to the number of protected area rangers assigned to protect it.

Mt. Banahaw is home to a rich biodiversity of endemic and indigenous plant and animal species. The mystical mountain is a famous site for trekkers and religious devotees during the Lenten season.