Banahaw pilgrims charged for bushfire

DOLORES, Quezon, Philippines – Authorities have charged five pilgrims, including a minor, for allegedly starting the bushfire that razed some 50 hectares of forestland in Mt. Banahaw on Thursday.

Officials of the Protected Area Management Board (PAMB) yesterday said the five were charged for violation of Republic Act 9847, or the law declaring Mt. Banahaw and nearby Mt. Cristobal in Laguna as protected landscape.

A team led by forest ranger Magtanggol Barrion rescued the five from the mountain at Barangay Kinabuhayan while six of their companions are still missing.

The five were identified as Loreto Alpapara, 60, Blesilda Clapano, 45, Bryan Alpapara, 27, Melina Anical, 27 and seven-year-old Angelic Charise Bolante. They were later released after paying the penalty of P5,000 and will have to render community service.

Authorities are still looking for Jinky Dumanan, Cristy Estita Bolante, Francisco Alpapara, Tristan Alpapara, Richard Estita and Emirencia Eugencio.

Officials said they are members of the Hiwaga ng Bundok Banahaw Inc., a group of devotees trekking to the mountain annually during summer.

The revered mountain spans the boundaries of Laguna and Quezon, attracting thousands of devotees every year, especially in the run-up to Holy Week. The devotees perform rituals to supposedly recharge their spirituality.

Vicente Tomazar, regional director of Disaster Risk Reduction Risk Reduction and Management Council, said teams were deployed to continue searching for the missing and monitor the area to assess the damage.

Tomazar said the group arrived at the foot of the mountain at Barangay Kinabuhayan on Sunday where they started their trek.

Henry Buzar, chief of Provincial Disaster Risk

Reduction and Management Council, said there were indications that the group started the bushfire.

The fire broke out on Wednesday and lasted till dawn yesterday.

Buzar pointed out the mountain is off limits to climbers under a law that protects Banahaw from environmental degradation.

The PAMB passed a resolution declaring some areas surrounding the mountain as protected area and closed to the public.

In March 2006, five more areas of the mountain on the side of Laguna province were also declared off limits.

The mystical mountain’s sordid state is the main reason why the government, through the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), continues to impose an off-limits policy on some of its critical parts to the public, including mountain climbers, pilgrims and visitors, particularly during the Lenten season.

Recent studies done by the DENR-Ecosystems Research and Development Bureau (ERDB) said Mt. Banahaw is now vulnerable to hazards such as floods, soil erosion, landslides and bushfires, usually caused by people trekking to the mountain for religious and recreational activities.

The DENR said it is considering making Mt. Banahaw off limits to the public permanently.

Environment Secretary Ramon Paje said closing the nature park to public access for good may be one of the solutions to prevent its further degradation and ensure the recovery of areas affected by last Thursday’s bushfire.

“The DENR is now studying the permanent closure of Mount Banahaw to the public, particularly mountaineers and pilgrims, to avoid future incidents of forest fires stemming from human activities,” Paje said. – Ed Amoroso, Rudy Fernandez, Rhodina Villanueva, Marvin Sy