Press Release
March 3, 2009

Pia: Mounts Banahaw and San Cristobal still closed
to trekkers this Holy Week

The mythical mountains of Banahaw and San Cristobal in the Southern Tagalog Region will remain closed to pilgrims and trekkers this Holy Week to allow the two mountains to "heal" themselves from decades of wanton environmental destruction.

This was revealed by Sen. Pia S. Cayetano today, even as she welcomed the approval Monday (March 2) of the bicameral conference committee report reconciling the Senate and House versions of the bills seeking the protection of the two mountains.

The lady senator is principal author of Senate Bill No.2392, "An Act Declaring the Mountains of Banahaw and San Cristobal as a Protected Landscape," which is expected to be signed into law by the President before the Lenten break following its bicameral approval. Its counterpart measure in the House of Representatives, HB No.4299, is principally authored by Rep. Proceso Alcala of the Second District of Quezon Province.

Cayetano said the bill's enactment will institutionalize current mechanisms to regulate human activities and arrest the destruction of the two mountains. The measure was passed on Third Reading on November 10, 2008 by the Senate, when Cayetano was still Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Environment and Natural Resources. She continued to work for the passage of the measure despite relinquishing her chairmanship of the commitee following the chamber's leadership reorganization in November 17 last year.

"While it is widely regarded as a sacred place, Mts. Banahaw and San Cristobal have not been accorded due respect and have not been spared from human exploitation. It is unfortunate that some people who troop there to meditate, especially during the Lenten Season, haven't been mindful of their responsibility to protect the environment. This prompted the public ban enforced in 2004 by the Protected Area Management Board (PAMB) that sought to spare the mountains from further destruction."

"I hope that the public would agree that the ban should stay. It's only right that we allow the holy mountains to heal after decades of wanton destruction. Since the ban's enforcement, there have been evident signs of restoration of its flora and fauna. The rafflesia, the biggest flower in the world, started to reappear there. Last year, it was also reported that water has started flowing again to its once dried-out falls, namely, Kristalino, Suplina and Salaming-Bubog."

On March 9, 2004, PAMB Resolution 2004-0001 ordered the mountains closed for five years and fenced off public entry points. The ban was prompted by the discovery of high concentrations of coliform bacteria in the mountain's waters. It was also reported that some 90 tons of garbage were being collected annually, and which had been traced to tourists and trekkers who dump garbage indiscriminately especially during the Holy Week.

Before the five-year ban elapsed this year, the PAMB in a meeting last February, decided to extend the same for another three years or until 2012.

Cayetano said the reconciled bill upheld standard provisions culled from the National Integrated Protected Areas System Act of 1992 or NIPAS Act. These include the following: (1) Declaration of land classification, scope and boundaries; (2) Creation of a Protected Area Management Board; (3) Establishment of a Protected Area Fund; and (4) Identification of prohibited acts and their corresponding penalties.

Mounts Banahaw and San Cristobal cover 10,784 hectares and 10,900 hectares, respectively, and span the provinces of Laguna and Quezon. The mountains were declared a protected area through Presidential Proclamation 411 in 2003. Its rich biodiversity includes 578 animal species and 56 plant species. The whole area is a critical watershed that drains into Laguna de Bay and Tayabas. It water systems support the Botocan Hydroelectric Power Plant in Majayjay and Luisiana, Laguna and provide the water needs of at least one million people.

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