National Mountain Cleanup Day

CEBU, Philippines - Our small group of mountain-climbing enthusiasts, including Cebu City public school teachers, trekked to Osmeña Peak, in Barangay Mantalongon, Dalaguete town on May 10, a Saturday. The place is popularly called OPeak or OsPeak, the highest point in the southern portion of Cebu at around 3,000 feet above sea level.

From the national highway, Osmena Peak can be reached by motorcycle-for-hire, at P100 per person. The very jump-off point to the peak is still some ten to 15 minutes walk from the closest spot the motorcycle can go. Magnificent rock formations lure visitors to the peak. Upon reaching the top, one has a good view of Badian town below, the Zaragoza and Pescador Islands, as well as Tañon Strait and Negros Island across.

Some trekkers pay local kids to act as their "guides," and, at the same time, to properly dispose of their trash. The kids ask for P20 for a bag of trash. The sad thing is, the kids often just tuck the filled trash bags in the bushes and thickets. If not, they throw the trash into a ditch that serves as natural catch basin at the burst of rainclouds.

Because of its easy accessibility, the OsPeak is said to be one of the "most bastardized" grounds in Cebu south. "Not all mountaineers do take the responsibility of bringing down from the mountains the things they bring up," according to  OPeak cleanup coordinator Neil Mabini. In his 19 years of being a mountaineer himself, Mabini has witnessed "climbers that leave their garbage behind as if somebody would clean and pick up for them."

"[Briefing] mountaineers on the leave-no-trace [philosophy] is never an assurance that they will be responsible mountaineers," Mabini added. "Some mountain climbers nowadays go climbing because it is a fad or just for 'selfie' purposes." 

On our way to the site, our group was ganged up by kids as young as seven years old. Two kids, in their desire to be picked as guides, grabbed my companions off the motorcycle-for-hire to the shock of the latter. The children became subjects of our discussion. 

It is rather scary for kids so young to climb the peak, much less to act as guides. They're just too young for the task, and have no proper training. Apparently, it's purely the money that motivates the kids to do it. The kids ask for P50 as guiding fee.

"They know that most visitors to Osmeña Peak have the money and are willing to pay," Mabini said. These kids reportedly even charge P500 to P700 for guiding visitors from Osmena Peak crossing all the way to Kawasan Falls on the other side.

The particular event we went on was the First National Mountain Cleanup Day, spearheaded by PinoyMountaineer founder Gideon Lasco, who earlier posted about it in his webpage. It was accordingly coordinated with Department of Environment and Natural Resources and other related agencies. The guidelines for the cleanup were set up during previous meetings done in Manila, the plan being to make it as a yearly event.

Mabini's own group had been doing the Osmeña Peak Cleanup since 2012. They coordinated with the local government unit in the disposal of the collected garbage. With his previous experience, Mabini volunteered as a cleanup coordinator for the First National Mountain Cleanup Day this year.

Yet, while the event went quite well, it did not go without letdowns. For one, the no-shows, people who had committed to participate but did not show up. Mabini himself could not hide his disappointment. "We need volunteers that work because they choose to and not because they just want to have an event shirt," he said referring to those who had ordered commemorative t-shirts but did not participate in the actual cleanup.

But then again this was only the very first of such event. With the experience and the lessons learned, the succeeding National Mountain Cleanup Days may only get better.