Mount Banahaw closed for 5 years

By JOHN BELLO
TODAY Correspondent


LUCENA CITY - The legendary Mt. Banahaw, which attracts mountain trekkers, spiritual devotees and ordinary visitors from all over Southern Tagalog and other areas all over the country, will be closed for five years.


The Protected Area Management Board (PAMB) for Mt. Banahaw has passed a resolution in its regular session at Fresh Air Hotel here on Monday to keep off the mountain’s sacred grounds from Cristalino Falls, Dungaw Paikot and Tatlong Tangke in barangay Kinabuhayan, both in Dolores town, Quezon province; and in Pagbuga in barangay Bugon up to Dulong Ilaya in barangay Concepcion Pinagbakuran and Concepcion Banahaw in Sariaya town, also in Quezon.


The resolution seeks to immediately shut off the major entry points in the Dolores and Sariaya portions of Mt. Banahaw from visitors, which, during the Holy Week, reach more than half million.


PAMB said the five-year closure of Mt. Banahaw-San Cristobal will be enough to rehabilitate and protect the mountain’s watershed areas.


The PAMB resolution, which is a form of administrative regulation, according to lawyer Asis Perez of environmental advocacy group Tanggol Kalikasan, will take effect after 15 days of publication at the National Administrative Register of the UP Law Center.


The resolution requested the help of the provincial police and the Southern Luzon Command to implement the closure.


The PAMB -- composed of multisectoral representatives from the towns of Sariaya, Candelaria, Dolores, Tayabas and Lucban in Quezon province, and Rizal, Nagcarlan, Liliw, Majayjay and San Pablo City in Laguna -- cited the mounting and alarming volume of garbage and the dwindling springwater on Mt. Banahaw and San Cristobal as the reason behind the closure of the mountain.


Last year alone about 11 truckloads of garbage were gathered in the sacred grounds called puestos in Dolores.


“The temporary closure aims to educate the people to the importance of the mountain, which is the source of livelihood of thousands of people in Quezon and Laguna,” Manuel Beloso, who presided in the PAMB meeting, said in Filipino.


Emrich Borja, Quezon provincial environment officer, expressed support for the temporary closure in order “to prevent a frightening natural disaster.” He added that five years ago he already noted that the water supply from Banahaw has already been dwindling.


Mt. Banahaw is considered the biggest watershed area in Southern Tagalog, according to Emmanuel Calayag, Dolores municipal environment officer and a PAMB member.


Francisco Veleña, a member of Bantay Banahaw in Sariaya, said he felt like winning a lottery when he learned the five-year closure of Mt. Banahaw.


“From 1978 to 1980 I was happy when many people trek to Mt. Banahaw. But recently I noticed that only a few bring candles, while more people bring playing cards and alcoholic drinks,” Veleña said.