10 ecologists hurdle long trek off Pacific Coast

BALER, Aurora — Only 10 out of 400 seasoned environmentalists have survived the gruelling 314-kilometer coastal trek along the Pacific Coast in this province.

Prof. Leonardo Usita, president of the Noble Blue Falcons International Association Inc. (NBFIAI) which organized the Pacific Coast trek told The STAR the 10 gritty survivors were Christopher Usita (Aurora Science High School Alumni Mountaineer); Luis Baynosa (Aurora Sierra Madre Blue Mountaineers); Ruel Rosales (Usita Advocates); Amado Acido Jr. (UP Diliman); and Rhett Gonzales, Rowell Gonzales, Reniel Doncreencia, Jerome Ruidera, Raymond Fernando and Edwin Pantalunan (Noble Blue Falcons).

Christopher Usita, brother of Leonardo, Pantalunan, Rosales and Baynosa were part of the 13 mountaineers who also survived the 12-day mountain trek of the Aurora side of the Sierra Madre mountain ranges last month. The four-day odyssey on foot is the first coastal adventure in this province.

The number of survivors was still way below the target of 26 survivors expected by the organizers.

Usita said the Pacific Ocean coastal trek proved to be a survival of the fittest among the competitors who had to contend with the presence of huge rocks and cliffs blocking the beaches similar to those encountered by coastal trekkers in the blockbuster motion picture "The Beach" portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio, who also immortalized "The Titanic."

"The presence of marine creatures, corals, plants, unexplored islands, bays and peninsulas made the adventure dangerously exciting," he said, adding that those who failed to make it dropped out due to sheer exhaustion.

Historian and book author, Prof. Joseph Beatriz Usita said that the trek along the Pacific, which was meant to promote the province’s tourism potentials and heighten environmental awareness, also showcased Aurora’s coastline as a tourist spot.

He recalled that the late former President Manuel Quezon, a native of this capital town, was so proud, enamored and fascinated by the splendor of the Pacific Ocean that when he was still studying at the University of Sto. Tomas (UST), he would tag along with him his law classmates for a walk along the coastline during the semestral break.

He said that the coastal barangays of Dibut, Dibayabay, Dikapinisan and Dimanayat used to be the sites of fierce battles between joint Filipino-American forces and the Japanese Imperial Army during the World War II.

The participating environmentalists came from the Blue Falcons chapters in Metro Manila, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Southern Tagalog, Bicol, Central Visayas and Eastern Mindanao.

They were joined in the trek by representatives of environmental organizations among them Prof. Jonel Quebal of Kibbal Philippines, Erwin Friginal (Green Highways), Appay Bihasa (Elite Red Falcons), Edu Balincongan (Usita Advocates), Pedie Dukha (Aurora-Sierra Madre Blue Mountaineers), Rudy Vargas (Silang Mountaineers), Daniel Jacla (Noble Blue Sons), Felizardo Colambo (Green-Philippines), Anthony Usita (Noble Blue Foresters), Randy Biron (Manoy Boxers) and South Korean students.