Volunteers collect garbage In Mt Apo

KIDAPAWAN CITY -At least a ton of garbage were collected by some 200 mountain climbers during the 4-day clean-up drive on Mount Apo that ended Saturday, a tourism official said. City tourism officer Joey Recimilla, also chair of the Eco-Tourism Committee of the Protected Area Management Board (PAMB), said the garbage were collected from six entry points to Mount Apo’s peak, which included towns of Magpet and Makilala and Kidapawan City in North Cotabato towns of Santa Cruz and Bansalan and Digos City of Davao del Sur. Climbers from Santa Cruz town collected at least 360 kilos of garbage Digos City, 305 kilos Bansalan, 177 kilos Makilala, 14 kilos Magpet, 56 kilos and Kidapawan City, 88 kilos. Recimilla said the total garbage collected this year’s cleanup drive was 38.5 percent lower than last year. This, he explained, was due to a limited number of trekkers allowed to climb the peak last summer. We controlled the climb from April to May because we were experiencing severe drought at that time.We were afraid the presence of too many trekkers on the peak and the kind and volume of garbage they would leave on the mountain might cause forest fires,” said Recimilla. The PAMB has announced that the peak would be closed starting June until September this year. The closure will help the mountain to rehabilitate after a major climb,” he said. Also, the board will impose a stricter policy on mountain climbing activities, including increase in fees and penalties. On March, the PAMBapproved a new trek or climb policy for mountaineering activities in Mount Apo. Earlier, Recimilla said the new trek policy included appropriate preventive and sustainable rehabilitation measures for Mount Apo’s protected area. These included new policies on trekking, guide and porter fees, responsibilities of guides and porters, booking of trekkers, camp sites and trail management, solid waste management, prohibitions, and penalties. In the Philippines, Mount Apo is considered the most visited destination by mountain climbers and environment enthusiasts since early ‘70s. It is home to Philippine’s monkey-eating eagle and ‘waling-waling’, the country’s queen of all flowers.