Mountaineers leave tons of trash in Mt. Apo

KIDAPAWAN CITY, Philippines --- Incensed by last week’s collection of three tons of garbage left by mountaineers in the surroundings of Mt. Apo, city officials on Friday warned to enforce new rules to curb wanton disposal of trash in the next  mountaineering season.

Nelly Dillera,  director for Region 12 of the Department of Tourism,  said they will launch an  information campaign  to educate tourists on proper disposal of waste.

Mt. Apo is a habitat of exotic and endangered wildlife species, including the Philippine Eagle. It also teems with premium-grade forest trees, such as lawaan, guiho, and molave.

Government tourism and environment workers collected last week a huge volume of waste, weighing about three tons,  left by mountaineers that trekked to Mt. Apo's summit last summer.

Joey Recimilla, chair of the Kidapawan City Protected Area Management Board (PAMB), said they will not allow a repeat of such abuse by mountain climbers next year.

“That was a blatant...disregard of our efforts to protect the environment, the rich fauna and flora in the rainforests and rivers at Mt. Apo,” Recimilla told reporters.

The city government and the DOT-12 facilitated the 2014 mountaineering activities at Mt. Apo, the highest in the country, with an elevation of more than 9,000 feet above sea level.

There are two geothermal plants at Kidapawan City’s Barangay Ilomavis at the foot of Mt. Apo, which supply about a fourth of Mindanao’s daily power requirements.

The office of Kidapawan City Mayor Joseph Evangelista is now formulating tighter measures  to protect  Mt. Apo.

Mt. Apo was first declared a “national park” on May 9, 1936 by then President Manuel Quezon, reaffirmed with supplemental declarations by presidents Ferdinand Marcos and, subsequently, by Fidel Ramos.

Recimilla said more than 300 climbers from different cities and provinces in Mindanao joined the latest Mt. Apo climbing season, which started in late March and lasted until early May this year.

“The non-biodegradable wastes we have just collected from the trails and surroundings of Mt. Apo can destroy its ecology if just left there,” Recimilla told reporters.

He said the PAMB is thankful to the DOT-12 for its commitment to help protect the Mt. Apo from environmental degradation, while keeping its stature as one of the most attractive eco-tourism sites in Central Mindanao. -John Unson