KABAYAN Mayor Faustino Aquisan on Friday, October 2, 2020, confirmed personnel from the Police Regional Office-Cordillera (PRO–COR) visited Mt. Pulag National Park.
Aquisan was quick to point out the visit was official business.
Before the visit, the mayor said he was informed by members of PRO-COR of their plans to go to Mt. Pulag. He told them to ask permission from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) before going to the area.
Aquisan said he also forwarded the letter from the Philippine National Police (PNP) to the Protected Area Management Board, which is under the supervision of DENR.
“Ada ti letter and then in forward ko ti DENR, nu madi DENR madik met, so kuna ti DENR okay lang (the letter from the PNP was forwarded to the DENR. If the DENR doesn’t want to [approve], I won't either. DENR said okay),” Aquisan added.
The chief executive said the visit is part of their department's outreach activities.
He also suggested the men in uniform to assess the illegal logging activities happening within the area.
Police were also asked to follow minimum health protocols such as wearing face masks.
Aquisan said Mt. Pulag is still closed to tourists and asked the public to wait for further announcements.
“To the local tourists, to the outside national and international tourists, Mt. Pulag and all tourist destinations, four lakes, mummy cave are all close for tourists,” the chief executive said.
Mt. Pulag National Park, in its official bulletin October 1, reminded climbers and visitors that Mt. Pulag is not yet open for trekking activities.