THE Protected Area Management Board (PAMB) has deferred the closure of Mount Apo from trekkers.
In a press statement, PAMB adopted the deferment of the agendum for the closure of Mount Apo Natural Park (MANP) during its emergency en banc meeting on Tuesday, February 23.
During the meeting, 25 PAMB members, both in Davao Region and Soccsksargen, voted in favor of the motion to defer the proposed closure, while eight were against it.
Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Davao Region (DENR-Davao) Executive Director Bagani Fidel Evasco, who is also the PAMB chairman, previously said they are eyeing for the temporary closure of Mount Apo to trekkers “due to the unappealing findings from the team’s recent conduct of trail and camp assessment.”
Evasco, together with selected officials and personnel from Davao Oriental and Davao del Sur, recently conducted a trial and camp assessment from February 11 to 14, passing Sitio Paradise Digos trail to Camp Gudi-Gudi then to the summit.
Following the activity, multiple observations were publicly released such as trekkers’ non-observance of the IATF guidelines on health protocols, occurrence of littering and vandalism, traces of drug substances, and alarming soil cultivation within its Strict Protection Zone (SPZ).
The director then pushed for its immediate rehabilitation by having it temporarily closed.
“We aim for the improvement of condition and sustainability of Mount Apo. We must do what it takes to safeguard the country’s highest peak -- to protect it as a key biodiversity area and one of our immense natural resources,” Evasco said during the meeting.
DENR-Davao Regional Public Affairs Office (RPAO) chief Jayvee Agas told SunStar Davao in a phone interview on Thursday, February 25, that majority of those who favor the deferment of its closure deemed that the rehabilitation of MANP can be done even without closing it to trekkers.
"Ang stand naman po nila is that pwede namang i-pursue ang rehabilitation plan (Their stand is that the rehabilitation plan can still be pursued) even without closing Mount Apo. But they assured the DENR that they will still support our rehabilitation plan," Agas said.
The DENR official said Mount Apo trails were opened to the public sometime in November 2020 after months of being closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
"Since kaka-open lang (the mountain was just recently opened to the public), well maybe that's one of their reasons din na gi-defer na (why they deferred it)," she said.
Despite the plan being deferred, she said DENR will still pursue its strategic plans to improve the condition of Mount Apo.
"One of our aims is to have a standardization of unified trekking and camping policies. Mag-set siguro og (Maybe to set) higher standards, or stricter policies which should be followed by the trekkers and mountaineers," Agas said.
The official also said they are already crafting its action plan to intensify information drive, accelerate the rehabilitation and improve the management of MANP trails and camping facilities.
She also said they are planning for the retooling of trekking mechanisms and policies, for setting up of standard facilities such as comfort rooms, as well as wayfinding signages, and for intensifying patrolling activities.