Banahaw finds rest for 2 years

Philippine Daily Inquirer
By Delfin T. Mallari Jr.,
PDI Southern Luzon Bureau

DOLORES, QUEZON- Mt. Banahaw was at peace for two years. A move to ban urbanites from trekking the mountain for nature trips disguised as a pilgrimage during the Lenten season apparently worked. Two years after the ban was imposed, the people of Barangay Kinabuhayan, at the bosom of the mountain, are at peace with their mountain again, saying that the mystery of Banahaw is no longer disturbed.
"The sacred aura of Mt. Banahaw is now beginning to show again. It's now peaceful and quiet just like the old days when this place was not yet known to non-devotees," said Supremo Jose Illustrisimo, leader of religious sect "Tatlong Persona Solo Dios" based in the village. He recalled how it was in 1936 when his late father, Agapito Illustrisimo, founded the religious sect as well as a settlement near the river, which they now revere as holy. Almost all residents in Kinabuhayan belong to "Tatlong Persona Solo Dios."
"I was then 7 years old. The place was surrounded by huge forest trees," the religious leader recalled. Illustrisimo recalled that when the Kinabuhayan river near the sect compound was still crystal clear, devotees washed their feet there before starting the trek to different sacred spots atop the mountain.
He remembered the times when former President Manuel Quezon visited the place to meditate. "He usually arrived here in the company of the provincial governor. He visited the different puestos to pray and meditate," the religious leader said. The religious Supremo said that during the Holy Week, sect leaders from across the country return to Kinabuhayan to renew their ties with their spiritual roots. Gloria Diala, 69, also a member of the religious sect and long time inhabitant of Kinabuhayan, reminisced about the first time she set foot in the serene village in 1958.
"This place was so beautiful. The climate was cool, birds were chirping and there was fresh flowing water. It was like paradise," she said. She recalled that when the sect members had to urinate, they wouldn’t do it just anywhere. "The visitors have their own canisters for their urine. That's how we respect this place," she said.
"One has to wear extra clothes to keep the body warm especially at night. The grass is always dewy. I always feel good and contented here during those times. We were all religious pilgrims here who flocked here for silent prayers and meditation. There was no mountaineer yet," she recalled.Nowadays, Diala said she wants to spend the remaining years of her life amid very serene and quiet surroundings. "It's alright with me if Mt. Banahaw will stay closed forever," the old woman said in a whisper.
Aside from the "Tatlong Persona Solo Dios," another influential religious sect whose members also climb Mt. Banahaw every Lenten season has also expressed approval of the mountain's closure.
According to the leaders of "Ciudad Mistika de Dios" based in Barangay Santa Lucia, majority of the 80 sects that hold their rites in the mountain would respect the decision to insulate San Cristobal-Banahaw from outside intrusion for much-needed rehabilitation.
Of the 80 groups, 20 are based-or have places of worship-within the area covered by the Protected Area Management Board directive. The mountain forms part of the Mt. Banahaw-San Cristobal National Park, declared as a protected area in June 2003. The park covers the municipalities of Sariaya, Candelaria, Tayabas, Lucban and Dolores, all in Quezon, and Rizal, Nagcarlan, Liliw, Majayjay and San Pablo City, all in Laguna.
To many, Mt. Banahaw is inhabited by spirits, elements and other-worldly beings. Many believers trek its slopes in hopes of experiencing something divine, particularly during the Lenten season.
In the summer of 2004, several days before the Holy Week, the PAMB sealed off with barbed wires several trails leading to areas in the bosom of Banahaw to start the five-year rehabilitation program that would resurrect the mountain's natural resources.
It was not only slash and burn (kaingin) farming that left a scar on the mountain's surface.
The irresponsible practice of mountain climbers, composed of modern pilgrims and urban nature trippers, have also added to the mounting pressure on the mountain's ecosystem. They leave behind styrofor boxes, empty water bottles and cans at almost every spot of the mountain after the Lenten period. Even enterprising children from Kinabuhayan village were aware of the reason behind the absence of their former mountain-climbing clients. "The mountaineers dump their trash just about anywhere. Even if we reminded them (not to leave trash), they just laugh at us," recalls Baroy Zena, 10; Christian Ele, 9; and Richard Rebamba, 13.
The three friends find employment as guides to first time mountain visitors.
"Each of us used to earn at least P200 a day. We were also given lots of foods and candies," said Rebamba, the veteran tour guide among the three. The guides also fetch water for a fee for the mountaineers on top of Banahaw. During Holy Week, the mountain is like a big set of stairs to most of the children. "We climbed the mountain several times a day. In the evening, we were dead tired in our sleep. But we're happy, we had plenty of money," Rebamba said. "But now, we no longer have money. We were told that the mountain will again open in 2007. Hopefully, it will be true," he said as the group feasted on loaves of breads and big bottles of soft drinks.
In an inspection of Mt. Banahaw conducted last week by the DENR, local government officials and Tanggol Kalikasan staff workers, the group found improvements in the closed areas.
Water has returned to the falls, the trails are no longer recognizable due to the regrowth of vegetation, and wildlife has returned to the area. The sound of flowing river provides an exhilarating acoustic backdrop to the urbanites' ear.
"But despite all these positive changes in Mt Banahaw, it still needs massive reforestation and rehabilitation. We should not let nature just heal itself. There's also a need for human intervention. We owe it to Mother Nature," said Manny Calayag, Dolores environment and natural resource officer.
To preserve the delicate balance of nature and the spirituality of the place, the local government turned down a proposal several years ago from a private resort firm to construct a swimming pool near the Kinabuhayan River.
Undeniably, there's a great potential for tourism to thrive in the place. But any eco-tourism undertaking in the area should seriously consider the revered spiritual history of the place. "So we rejected the proposal," Calayag said.
What worries the local government now is the danger from landslides and flash floods due to the altered topography of the place. "We now have to conduct regular monitoring on the condition of the soil in the upper part of the mountain whenever there is a strong and continuous rain," Calayag said.
He recalled that Kinabuhayan and the nearby village of Sta. Lucia have already experienced big floods in the past. Sally Pangan, protected area supervisor assigned by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to Banahaw, said in her inspection report that the soil erosion between Barangays Sampaloc 1 and Bugon in Sariaya was due to rampant illegal farming in some parts of the mountain.
Pangan discovered that the land in the area had no topsoil. The team also found traces of landslides during previous heavy rains that resulted in the contamination of the town's water supply and also of neighboring villages.
The extent of soil erosion, near the water source downstream, reveals a mismanaged watershed due to uncontrolled farming inside the mountain area. "The slope of Banahaw de Dolores is the same in St. Bernard, except that our place is much steeper. God forbid, but we're not totally discounting the possibility that what happened in St. Bernard could also happen here. The occurrence of landslides and flash floods in these mountainous parts of Dolores is not a remote possibility," Calayag said.
Calayag also pointed to the volcanic and limestone wall at the back of the village."There's always a fire in that wall every four years, which softened the soil structure," he said.