Trekkers, pilgrims going to Mt. Banahaw reminded of new rules

A VISITOR to Barangay Kinabuhayan in Dolores, Quezon, at the base of mystical Mt. Banahaw, reads the dos and don’ts for visits during Holy Week. DELFIN T. MALLARI JR.

Authorities reiterated a reminder to trekkers to Mt. Banahaw, including pilgrims, to obey new rules governing access to the mountain or face penalties.

“We will start to implement some of the new provisions. What I’m telling them is just obey the rules and we will leave them unmolested,” said Salud Pangan, Department of Environment and Natural Resources park area superintendent, in an interview in Barangay (village) Kinabuhayan at the base of the mountain here on Tuesday.

Some of the new rules that the Protected Area and Management Board (PAMB) would impose include a ban on the use of soap or shampoo in mountain rivers and a ban on alcoholic drinks and smoking. Banned items would also be seized and violators would face fines and penalties like tree planting and mountain cleanup.

Reynulfo Juan, DENR Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon) regional head, arrived in Kinabuhayan on Tuesday and led DENR officials and employees in inspecting different puesto or sacred spots to ensure the safety of pilgrims.

Juan, a geologist, also visited and prayed at “Kuweba ng Diyos Ama” one of the “sacred caves” at the foot of the mountain. After his inspection, he said the cave is “still competent.”

The PAMB, a multisectoral agency created by law to keep watch over the country’s protected areas, is also imposing a 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. curfew in the mountain villages of Kinabuhayan and Sta. Lucia, the two areas where devotees congregate due to the presence of several puesto.

Mountain visitors should remain in their tents during curfew hours and maintain silence. Drinking, gambling and other unruly activities inside the tents are prohibited.

Pangan said forest guards and volunteers would be on the prowl for violators. She said first-time violators would be tasked with cleaning the whole camping area as punishment.

The new rules also require mountain guests to stay for only two nights and a day. Campers would have to get permit from the PAMB office in Kinabuhayan a week prior to arrival.

But Pangan admitted it would not be feasible to implement (the new rules during this Holy Week) because of lack of time for an information campaign.

She said her staff and volunteers would distribute flyers on the new rules and post new tarpaulins and billboards in strategic spots.

“We’re now on our public information and education mode for their guidance next year,” she said.

The PAMB now demands P100 fee for each tent for a whole-day stay and an additional P150 for overnight stay.

Next year, the PAMB would put up portable toilets around the camping site, Pangan said.

Several villagers also offer use of their toilets to visitors for a fee.

A fiesta atmosphere prevails in the two villages with the number of eateries, curio stores and shops offering souvenir shirts, fresh vegetables, tattoos and even mystical charms and amulets.

One ambulant curio shop owner in Kinabuhayan said they paid P500 to the village council.

An estimated 3,000 to 5,000 mountain visitors are expected to flock to Banahaw this Holy Week, which is still far below the 500,000 Lenten visitors that flocked to the mountain when it was still open to the public before its peaks were closed in 2004.

To many, Banahaw is inhabited by spirits, elementals and otherworldly beings. Many believers trek its slopes in the hope of miracles, particularly during the Lenten season.

But according to Pangan, there are now more nature trippers than religious pilgrims. “The urbanites come here to spend quiet moments and also for some picnic,” she said.

She asked mountain visitors to observe the basic rules in mountaineering—leave no trash behind.

Last year, Banahaw hosted only 3,000 visitors, Pangan said.

The village council of Sta. Lucia also demands payment of P20 and Kinabuhayan, P30, for every vehicle that would pass through their checkpoints.

Enterprising owners of vacant lots and coconut farms also convert their areas into parking lots for a fee.

The PAMB decided to keep Banahaw’s “multiple use zone” still open to the public throughout the year although with more stringent rules, including increased fines and stiffer penalties for violators.

But the mountain peaks, classified as “strict protection zone” where the more revered “holy spots” are located, would remain off limits to pilgrims and other mountain trekkers.

PAMB would deputize more forest guards assisted by volunteers, policemen and soldiers to implement the new rules during Holy Week.

But with lots of hidden trails to the top, the implementation of the new rules would be tough.

Mt. Banahaw 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 province.

Last month and in early April, four fires believed to be man-made raged for days in Banahaw and adjacent Mt. San Cristobal.