ILLEGAL LOGGING IN CEBU CITY

WHILE THE CEBU CITY GOVERNMENT and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) were asleep, anonymous termites armed with a chainsaw fell tree after tree in a remote hinterland of the city found either in the boundaries of Sapangdaku, Babag I or Kalunasan. It was in the early afternoon of February 8, 2009 when I chanced upon four stumps of newly-cut tamarind trees, their trunks and branches scattered about along the trail that I traversed from Babag Ridge to the barangay road of Kalunasan.

I was with Boy Toledo and Ernie Salomon and we just concluded an endurance climb session with my group, the Cebu Mountaineering Society, wherein we parted ways with Daddy Frank Cabigon, Boy Olmedo and Grace Ventic and guest Joel Cariño of the USC Mountaineers who decided to cut short their session by way of the Babag Ridge Road exiting to Garaje in Upper Busay. Boy T, Ernie and me, meanwhile, proceeded to explore further the No-Santol-Tree Trail which we accidentally discovered on January 4.

On that date and on the week after that (January 11) these four tamarind trees were still there. Each of the tree were bearing fruit as they were still in their prime and were a natural landmark along the trail because of their imposing location. In just a short span of time, these lovely tamarind trees were reduced to a pitiful assortment of lifeless cut trunk and limbs while their leaves and fruits withered under the heat of the sun, perhaps, all to be buried under a shallow dirt inside a fire hole where the slow ember of a fire would reduce it to commercial charcoal.

Everywhere, whether along the trail or across another hill, I would see spots of cleared hillsides, marked by dried vegetation and dead tree stumps, young and old alike. And located nearby are the charcoal-making holes, black-marked forever on the landscape, so obvious by its presence. A curse to the green living things wrought upon them by greedy traders who capitalized on the remoteness of the area, so wide and so hidden, and on the economic situation of the inhabitants. Another thing, these termites took advantage of the neglect and laziness of people in government tasked to oversee the protection of the environment.

It is a common sight for me when I trekked the trails from Napo to Mount Babag and back or traversing to Kalunasan to see people gathering and transporting charcoal. Most of these kind use minors to do the work for them. One pre-adolescent boy I talked to on the No-Santol-Tree Trail, who was carrying a sack of newly-collected charcoal slung along his forehead, said he disposed his cargo to a certain “Floro” for a measly fee of ten pesos (Php10.00)! It sucks!!

Boy T have been egging me many times to alert these activities to the authorities, but I don't know where or whom to talk to. I felt his rage and I felt mine too. So I clicked on my camera and blog this in the Internet, then pray and hope that someone would take notice of this. Just hoping and praying this will be magnified a thousand times...

...I am appealing to the Honorable Mayor Tomas Osmeña and his councilors, the DENR and to the barangay chiefs of Kalunasan, Babag I, Guadalupe, Sapangdaku and Busay to please get out of your comfort zones and take a look at our backyard which are now being decimated slowly back to the Cebu City of the '80s which were marked then by bald hills, overflowing rivers during a rain and droughts.

Document done in OpenOffice 2.1

NAPO TO BABAG TALES X: The No-Santol-Tree Trail

THE URGE TO SHED off the extra poundage I have accumulated in the short span of November 29, 2008 to January 3, 2009 pushed me to go backpacking again to the trails of Mount Babag on January 4. The food prepared on the eve of New Year's Day and after, I have eaten to my heart's delight like there was no tomorrow, were now taking its toll. Besides, I need to sweat out those firecracker smokes which I inadvertently inhaled when I drove a motorcycle around the city streets on New Year which caused me to get sick for three days!

Actually, it was already on my schedule after an impromptu meeting that I have with Boy Toledo, Sam Lim, Ernie Salomon, Glenn Domingo, Ben Lao and Jecris Dayondon on December 28 first, near Boy T's office in Gorordo Avenue, then at Calda Pizza in Salinas Drive in Lahug. Boy T, Sam, Ernie and me just came from Mt. Babag on that day.

So, on this Sunday morning I went directly to our meeting place at the back of the Virgen de Guadalupe Church. Andrew and Bong of ONE Cebu passed by with their guests from eTelecare to go to Mt. Babag via the Kahugan Trail. Later, Ernie then Sam arrived and we left at 8:00 AM for Napo in Guadalupe to meet with Manwel Roble, our boy-guide. Sadly, Boy T and Jecris declined to join us at the last minute and so have missed that early opportunity to sweat out 2008 from their body system.

At the first stopping area we overtook the group of ONE Cebu resting under a big mango tree. We rested as well there and exchanged pleasantries with them and we all decided to go to the second river crossing together afterwards. Two guys from MONC arrived at the river crossing then we split up, with my group going the hard and difficult Ernie's Trail. Together with Manwel, we climbed our usual route with so much enthusiasm and glee wherein I recorded some videos.

We arrived at Manwel's place at 9:45 AM and I brought out my usual present of bread for his siblings and I noticed that they constructed two new bamboo benches under the shade of a mango tree which were not there last week. I took pictures of the children there. It was so cool and relaxing sitting on the bench as the soothing mountain breeze lulled us to drowsiness but we have go on as we have to take an early lunch at Babag Ridge and so we said goodbye to the kids. We have a long way to go to find a trail for Kalunasan.

The three of us then went down the third river crossing and started the most difficult trail in this area. I huffed and puffed as I lurched forward slowly up the trail and it was quite surprising that I got winded of my effort despite my constant visits here almost weekly. I blamed it on the fast pace we made or maybe the fasting I made for the first Friday and Saturday of the year took its effect. We have made this area our training ground and we're glad to tackle this trail in whatever opportunity we could find.

We did reach Mt. Babag at 11:00 AM and took lunch at a store three hundred meters ahead. We rested for a full two hours as the MONC guys passed by and we followed them along the road to Garaje in Busay. Just beyond Babag Crest Mountain Resort, we separated from them and went down a trail that we passed by last week to look for a route that would connect us to Kalunasan. We were unsuccessful at that time, but this time, with me leading and navigating, we were able to break through to Kalunasan road at 2:45 PM.

There were many trails that led back to the river crossing that we passed by hours ago (just like last week) and they were easy to follow. And there are some trails that lead to dead ends and there are other routes that might go to an unknown destination. Without a map and a compass, it is a difficult predicament. However, I used my long experience as a solo trekker and I read and analyzed the contour of the terrain and discarded the useless hours of testing each trail. I followed my trailcraft sense until we reached the road in a time of less than two hours.

Sam suggested that the trail be named after me with which notion I quickly dispelled and name it instead as “No-Santol-Tree Trail” in reference to a a santol tree which is used as a landmark by the locals in going to Kalunasan as told to us by a local resident. We looked for that tree, but we found none, so the idea of naming this trail fell on that circumstance. There was not one santol tree on the place we passed by and we joked that the tree might have already been sold as charcoal.

Walking for about an hour downward for Kalunasan proper we finally reached the junction that led straight to the Guadalupe parish. At exactly 4:00 PM, Ernie and I sat on the pews of the church and attended the first Sunday Mass of 2009. It was a perfect Sunday all rolled into one with the most perfect weather. A time of a day well spent.

Happy Free-Walking Day!!!

Document done in OpenOffice 2.1