Banahaw, San Cristobal declared protected areas

MANILA, Philippines - President Arroyo has signed into law the bill establishing Mounts Banahaw in Laguna and San Cristobal in Quezon as protected areas to prevent their further destruction.

Frequented by trekkers, devotees and tourists, the two mountains in Southern Tagalog have suffered from widespread destructive activities, including the indiscriminate disposal of solid waste.

The deluge of visitors to the two mountains, particularly during the Lenten season, has resulted in the contamination of the mountains’ waters with coliform bacteria and the collection of an estimated 90 tons of garbage annually.

Responding to these developments, the Protected Area Management Board (PAMB) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) imposed a five-year ban on public entry to the two mountains starting in March 2004.

With its expiration this year, the PAMB decided to extend the ban for another three years ending in 2012.

To ensure the sustainable management and protection of the two mountains, Republic Act 9847 was signed by the President last week during her visit to the regional government center in Barangay Mapa­gong, Calamba City, Laguna.

There would now be a Mts. Banahaw-San Cristobal Protected Landscape (MBSCPL), which would be covered by the provisions of the law.

Sen. Pia Cayetano, principal author of the bill in the Senate, said the law will institutionalize current mechanisms to regulate human activities and arrest the destruction of the two mountains.

The law upheld standard provisions culled from the National Integrated Protected Areas System Act of 1992 or NIPAS Act, including the declaration of land classification, scope and boundaries; the creation of a Protected Area Management Board; the establishment of a Protected Area Fund; and identification of prohibited acts and their corresponding penalties.

Cayetano said Mounts Banahaw and San Cristobal cover 10,784 hectares and 10,900 hectares, respectively, and are home to 578 animal species and 56 plant species.