THE top story which has a bearing on this event is the catastrophe of Mount Apo on fire. The fire started on Black Saturday and was raging unabated until April 2.
The world famous Mount Apo which might have developed for centuries was destroyed, almost beyond repair in 3 days. I could just sigh remembering my "weather forecaster".
Every morning I take my exercise by walking in our garden, I gaze at the peak of Mount Apo and its minor peaks. It is good weather for the day when I see the picturesque view of the whole Mount Apo. When I do not see any mountain, I know it means bad weather.
I got very curious to know facts about the famous Mount Apo. Mount Apo is the Philippines’ highest mountain. It is a strato-volcanic mountain in Cotabato, Davao Del Sur. It is 2,954 meters high, potentially active. The peak overlooks Davao City 45 kilometers (km) at northeast, Digos 25 km at southeast and Kidapawan City 20 km to the west. On May 9,1938, President Manuel Quezon declared Mount Apo as a National Park.
Mount Apo has a tropical rainy climate, rainfall is experienced throughout the year, the mean temperature is 27.9 degrees Celsius during April. There are abundant plants and animals in the mountain. There are 272 bird species, 111 of which are endemic to Mt. Apo. The most famous is the Philippine Eagle, our national bird. It is the world's largest eagle and is included in the highly endangered lists of birds. The flora or plant life include the Philippine hardwoods for lumber, flowers like orchids grow attached to tree trunks, shrubs, herbs and parasitic fungi on tree trunks. Big pitcher plants are found. These are in the shape of a pitcher where liquid is found inside trapping some insects. Venus fly trap is shaped like an open fan with bristles on the edge. The moment any insect steps on it, the fan closes and the insect is digested as its food. My botany students in Baguio saw these interesting species on the tip of Mount Sto. Tomas. I also remember we found fossils of ocean clams showing that Baguio was once upon a time under water. Back to Mount Apo we see wonders of the varied topography of the land mass. Sadly they are gone after the fire.
It has 4 major lakes namely Lake Agcolas called "the Blue Lake”, Lake Vanado is very popular because mountaineers use it as a camping site and stopover site for hikers. Lake Macadeva and Jordan are found in the vast grassland portions. About rivers, Mount Apo has 19 major rivers, and 21 creeks, smaller waterways branching out from the rivers. These water areas have 12 species of fish. The picturesque creeks show spots with slow shallow water flow, angry turbid waters in much faster flow and ending in sandy mud river beds. There are waterfalls also, the tallest is the Tudaye Falls with the height of about 100 meters. It flows down to the Sibulan River ending at the Davao Gulf. I cannot imagine all the beauty of nature, since all what I see daily of Mount Apo is the silhouette from my home garden.
No wonder it is so popular to mountain climbing and trekkers enthusiasts. There are strict regulations set by the officials of the National Park to be followed under pain of being apprehended. Cleanliness is paramount. All trash must be placed in designated areas. Littering is a no no. Building campfires, setting temporary shelters, obeying off limits signs must be followed. Sadly, the catastrophe of the Mount Apo Fire was started by cooking campers according to the investigating body.
Some traditional religious native sects hold their rites during the Lenten season. There are a number of IPs tribes residing in Mount Apo. As usual they had sought right to the area by virtue of local domains laws. Industrially, Mount Apo has contributed much to the Mindaonoans. It has geothermal energy sources and provides 54.24 megawatts of energy. Watersheds and hydroelectric plants like the Taduya plants supply 42.5 megawatts of clean and renewable energy to Davao City.
I made this lengthy exposition of the wealth and worth of our Mount Apo with a purpose. You see, after losing it to the great fire, you know what you have lost. The mountain which took centuries to form is gone in 13 days. I remember a maxim which says this. "Trees in a forest can make billions of matchsticks; it takes only one careless mountaineer to light one matchstick to burn the whole forest".
All government agencies connected to the care of Forest Parks are tasked to map out plans to systematically rehabilitate Mount Apo. The first step is cleaning and clearing out the mess. In itself, this is a massive job. Then I read they will have the seeding of the fields anew with different species of plant life. Bring back, where possible, species of animals in the different habitats. We might wait for decades of time to see these attempts to manifest its survival.
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