The Iranon Development Agency, the development arm of the newly created Shariff Kabunsuan province in Central Mindanao, is eyeing Mt. Puting Bato in Matanog town as a sanctuary of the civet cat for the production of the much-coveted "civet coffee."
Civet coffee, called Kape Laku locally, Kopi Luwak in Indonesia and "weasel coffee" in Vietnam, is considered the most expensive coffee in the world, fetching as much Aus$50 per cup and served only in a coffee shop in Townsville in northern Australia.
Japan and the United States are considered to be the major markets of civet coffee, made of coffee berries taken from the droppings of a civet cat.
The civet cat is known to eat the choice red berries of a wild coffee plant, passing them through its digestive tract before they are excreted. The red berries are then extracted from the animal’s droppings before they are processed into coffee.
According to Datu Mussolinni Lidasan, civet cats are known to thrive in the remaining rainforests of Mt. Puting Bato.
Lidasan described Mt. Puting Bato to be moist every day, making it conducive as a habitat of the civet cat, also known as musang or alamid, which feeds mainly on chicken heart and lungs.
"We are looking at the possibility of declaring Mt. Puting Bato a sanctuary of the civet cat which we can harness for the commercial production of civet coffee," he said.
Lidasan said civet coffee could be made into a full-time cottage industry of the Iranons of Shariff Kabunsuan.
Declaring Mt. Putting Bato a sanctuary of the civet cat has gained the strong support of Zamzamin Ampatuan, executive director of the Southern Philippines Development Authority (SPDA).
The SPDA has been tasked to help pump-prime the economy of Shariff Kabunsuan by not only providing the necessary capital outlay but by also initiating feasibility studies for economic projects.
"Aside from its market value, the locals have always regarded Kape Laku for its medicinal value," Ampatuan told The STAR.
Fr. Alberto Alejo, S.J., of the Ateneo de Davao University, proposed that a careful study on civet coffee be made, especially since the civet cat has been reported to be the source of the dreaded Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) virus in China.
Alejo said the Department of Trade and Industry and the Department of Science and Technology could possibly undertake the research on the production and marketing of civet coffee.
Ampatuan said the civet cat could also be a symbol of the struggle of the Iranons as a Muslim tribe.
"While protecting the environment through the declaration of Mt. Puting Bato as a civet cat sanctuary, it would also be representative of what Iranons would want to do in improving their lives," he said.
Shariff Kabunsuan, comprising 10 towns, was carved out of the old Maguindanao province.