Motorcycle club faces suit for forest damage

BAGUIO CITY—A motorcycle club, whose members damaged a protected forest when they rode through footpaths of Mount Purgatory in Bokod, Benguet province, last year, is now facing a lawsuit from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

Purgatory is part of the 77,561-hectare Upper Agno River Basin Resource Reserve, which encompasses eight towns in Benguet, two towns in Ifugao and a town in Nueva Vizcaya.

The complaint was filed by Aida Joseph, protected area superintendent, against 13 members of  Montalban Riders Association, who reportedly drove through the mossy forest in Purgatory in October last year. Joseph filed the complaint based on affidavits and testimonies supplied by Bokod Mayor Mauricio Macay and town residents.

The complaint cited the testimony of Orchidia Dominguez, a resident, who said she had advised two motorcycle riders on Oct. 30 to park their bikes at  Bakian Primary School because the footpaths along Sitio Bakian in Barangay Tanglaw were meant for hikers, not motorcycles.

“But after I spoke to them, the riders proceeded to Purgatory,” she said.

Several tourist guides also testified to have witnessed the riders drive out of the forest on motorcycles.

The Bokod ecotourism officer documented the destruction of star moss and lichens along the damaged footpaths, purportedly due to the motorcycles that were driven through the mountain, the complaint said.

The community had confronted the bikers, who offered to settle the matter by donating a pig for a cleansing ritual, and a promissory note for the payment of P50,000 “for the restoration of the destroyed areas.” The ritual was performed in November 2015.

The bikers could face up to two years in jail if found guilty of destroying a forest. Vincent Cabreza, Inquirer Northern Luzon