Thursday, April 25, 2024

Tag: Mt. Kitanglad

DOT-Northern Mindanao gives inaccurate details about mountain ranges in Bukidnon

Posted on by cmn

April 3, 2024 MindaNews fact-checked the claim of the Department of Tourism – Northern Mindanao (DOT – Northern Mindanao) about facts involving the mountain ranges in Bukidnon province. Some details are inaccurate, hence misleading

In a post on its Facebook page last February 22 titled “5 FACTS ABOUT BUKIDNON,” the DOT-Northern Mindanao said:

“The name ‘Bukidnon’ is derived from the Visayan term ‘bukid,’ which means mountain. True to its name, the province is characterized by extensive mountain ranges, including Mount Kitanglad, Mt. Dulang-dulang and Mt. Kalatungan, which are some of the highest peaks of the country.” (emphasis supplied)

Mt. Kitanglad and Mt. Dulang-dulang are not two different mountain ranges.

They are among the peaks belonging to the same mountain range, the Mt. Kitanglad Range Natural Park, legislated as a protected area on November 9, 2000.

Mt. Dulang-dulang (2,938 meters above sea level) is the second-highest peak in the Philippines. On the other hand, Mt. Kitanglad (2,899masl) is the country’s fourth highest peak, and like Mt. Dulang-dulang, is one of the popular trekking destinations in Bukidnon.

The DOT-Northern Mindanao post further said that Mt. Kitanglad “sits between Malaybalay City and the municipalities of Lantapan, Impasugong, Sumilao, and Libona.”

The agency’s list of areas encompassed by the mountain range is incomplete. Mt. Kitanglad Range straddles Malaybalay City and the towns of Lantapan, Talakag, Baungon, Libona, Manolo Fortich, Sumilao, and Impasugong. These eight areas share boundaries on the summit of Mt. Kitanglad. (Source: Protected Area Management Plan of Mt. Kitanglad Range Natural Park, 2018-2022, Page 6. Note: No online link, e-copy only)

The two other mountain ranges in Bukidnon are Mt. Kalatungan Range Natural Park, where Mt. Kalatungan is located, and Pantaron Range (also called Pantadon).

Kalatungan Range encompasses Valencia City and the towns of Talakag, Pangantucan, and Maramag.

Pantaron Range straddles Bukidnon and the neighboring provinces of Misamis Oriental, Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, Davao del Norte, and Davao del Sur.

As with all our other reports, MindaNews welcomes leads or suggestions from the public to potential fact-check stories. (H. Marcos C. Mordeno / MindaNews)

Mt. Kitanglad gipanghingusgan nga maprotektahan

Posted on by cmn

“𝐴𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑘𝑜𝑎𝑛𝑔 𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑎ℎ𝑖 𝑠𝑎 𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑎𝑛𝑔 𝑘𝑎𝑡𝑎𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑛 𝑠𝑎 𝐵𝑢𝑘𝑖𝑑𝑛𝑜𝑛, 𝑛𝑔𝑎 𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑎 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑎𝑏𝑡𝑎𝑛 𝑎𝑛𝑔 𝑘𝑢𝑙𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑎𝑛ℎ𝑜𝑛 𝑛𝑔𝑎 𝑘𝑎𝑎𝑙𝑎𝑚 𝑛𝑔𝑎 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑛𝑎𝑔-𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑡𝑒𝑘𝑡𝑎𝑟 𝑠𝑎 𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑖𝑦𝑎ℎ𝑎𝑛 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑎 𝑠𝑎 𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑎𝑛𝑔 𝑘𝑎𝑡𝑎𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑛”, kini ang mensahi ni Bae Adelina ‘Inatlawan’ Tarino, usa sa mga Mt. Kitanglad Council of Elders

Nasulti niya kini atol sa gipahigayon nga 27th Aldaw Ta Kitangalad, Nobyembre 7-9, 2023, Barangay Capehan, lungsod sa Libona, Bukidnon, sa tema nga “Preserving Water: Sustaining Life, Honoring Heritage”.

Gipasabot ni Bae Inatlawan nga ang Mt. Kitanglad unang gitawag nga “Buntod Ta Lumuluyaw”, nga buot ipasabot, usa ka sagrado nga lugar nga kung maalimahan, anaa diha ang kaluwasan.

Ang maong kabukiran binilin sa katigulangan nga adunay balaod, nga ginganlan ug Palayaga Ha Batasan, Pagunguta Ha Batasan, Kaub ha Binalingan Ha Batasan, Makapundog Lumabunog Ha Batasan, Ug Minamaun Ha Batasan, nga kung dili matuman ug masunod, moagi ang mga katalagman.

“𝐴𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑘𝑜𝑛𝑔 𝑑𝑎𝑘𝑜𝑛𝑔 𝑝𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑜𝑦 𝑛𝑔𝑎 𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑎 𝑠𝑎 𝑘𝑎𝑛𝑢𝑛𝑎𝑦 𝑚𝑎𝑔𝑝𝑎𝑑𝑎𝑦𝑜𝑛 𝑎𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑡𝑜𝑛𝑔 𝑝𝑎𝑛𝑎𝑔-𝑢𝑏𝑎𝑛 𝑑𝑖ℎ𝑎 𝑠𝑎 𝑝𝑎𝑔𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑡𝑒𝑘𝑡𝑎𝑟 𝑢𝑔 𝑝𝑎𝑔𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑏𝑎𝑟 𝑠𝑎 𝑀𝑡. 𝐾𝑖𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑎𝑑 𝑅𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒, 𝑖𝑠𝑖𝑝 𝑖𝑛𝑦𝑜𝑛𝑔 𝑏𝑖𝑠𝑒 𝑔𝑜𝑏𝑒𝑟𝑛𝑎𝑑𝑜𝑟 𝑎𝑘𝑜 𝑚𝑢𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑜𝑛 𝑛𝑔𝑎 𝑎𝑛𝑔 𝑘𝑎𝑙𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑢𝑠𝑎𝑛 𝑠𝑎 𝑎𝑡𝑜𝑛𝑔 𝑔𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑢ℎ𝑎 𝑚𝑎𝑘𝑎𝑏-𝑜𝑡 𝑙𝑎𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑔 𝑝𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑎𝑔𝑖 𝑠𝑎 𝑎𝑡𝑜𝑎𝑛𝑔 𝑝𝑎𝑔𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑏𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑎𝑦, 𝑎𝑘𝑜 𝑛𝑎𝑘𝑎𝑝𝑎𝑛𝑔ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑜𝑡 𝑛𝑔𝑎 𝑎𝑛𝑔 𝑑𝑖𝑤𝑎 𝑠𝑎 𝑝𝑎𝑔-𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑔𝑠𝑢𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑦, 𝑎𝑛𝑎𝑎 𝑘𝑎𝑛𝑎𝑡𝑜 𝑠𝑎 𝑘𝑎𝑛𝑢𝑛𝑎𝑦 𝑑𝑢𝑦𝑢𝑔𝑎𝑛 𝑠𝑎 𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑠𝑦𝑎 𝑠𝑎 𝑎𝑡𝑜𝑛𝑔 𝐿𝑎𝑏𝑎𝑤’𝑛𝑔 𝑀𝑎𝑘𝑎𝑔𝑎𝑔𝑎ℎ𝑢𝑚 𝑜 𝑀𝑎𝑔𝑏𝑎𝑏𝑎𝑦𝑎”, mao kini ang gipaabot nga mga panghinaot ni Vice Governor Clive D. Quiño.

Gidugang ni Vice-Governor Quiño kinahangalan hingusgan ang mga programa sa Protected Areas Management Board (PAMB) nga mao ang pagpanalipod sa Kitanglad, pagpadayon pagpa-edukar sa katawhan, padayon nga pag-monitor sa kalasangan ingon man pagdugang sa mohon o demarcation sa protected areas, diin gipanghinaot nga mamahimo kining nominado alang sa United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) nga naila isip ASEAN Heritage Park (AHP).

Mipaabot usab sa mensahe si Benjamin M. Maputi. Sr, ang Kitanglad Guard Volunteer (KGV) Federation President,“Salamat kaayo nga nakasabot na ang tanan ilabi na sa atong mga LGU, sa Province, sa Munisipyo, sa Barangay kay nakasabot na ang tanan nga angayan nga ato gayud protektaran ang Mt. Kitanglad Range Natural Park kay maoy tinubdan sa hangin, sa maayong panahon sa kabugnaw ilabi na sa 28 ka barangay nga nagpalibot niini, salamat usab sa Ginoo, ang Ginoo ra ang nasayod, kay sa pagsugod sa Kitanglad, naa nako dira gwardiya sa kinaiyahan nga ma-protektran og mapadayonon”.

Ang Mt. Kitanglad Range adunay 380 ka guard volunteers diin gilangkuban sa mga lungsod sa Lantapan, Impasugong, Sumilao, Talakag, Baungon, Manolo Fortich, Libona og syudad sa Malaybalay diin maoy naglibot sa Mt. Kitanglad Range Natural Park.

Gikoronahan isip Laga ta Kitanglad si Ms. Michelle P. Calupe gikan sa lungsod sa Lantapan ug Maama KGV si Mr. Peter John Paul Ganiahan gikan sa lungsod sa Talakag. (LGU Bukidnon)

Authorities investigating deaths of warty pigs in Bukidnon protected area

Posted on by cmn

MALAYBALAY CITY — At least nine warty pigs (Sus philippensis) died from still unknown causes within the Mt. Kitanglad Range Natural Park last year, the chief of the Protected Area Management Office of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Bukidnon said on January 31, 2023

The warty pigs, which are classified as vulnerable by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, were found dead in three areas—Barangay Kaatuan in Lantapan town, Barangay San Vicente in Baungon town, and Barangay Mapayag in Malaybalay City—according to Protected Area Superintendent Merlita L. Tabamo.

Five of them were found dead in Kaatuan, three in September and two in November 2022. Two each were found dead in San Vicente and Mapayag, Tabamo said.

She noted that all of the nine animals showed no wounds and other indications that they were physically harmed.

Tabamo said her office had reported the incidents to the eight local government units around Mt. Kitanglad Range and Gov. Rogelio Neil Roque.

She also instructed the Kitanglad Guard Volunteers to be on alert for similar incidents during their monthly patrols.

The official added that personnel from the Provincial Veterinary Office have offered to help identify the cause of the deaths of the warty pigs. Aside from examining the carcasses of the pigs, they will also conduct tests on live ones.

Tabamo cited that based on their monitoring the warty pig population in Mt. Kitanglad Range increased in 2020 and 2021 but showed a decline in 2022.

She said if the deaths continued, it could affect the local population of the warty pigs, which play an important role in conservation by dispersing the seeds of some plant species.

She said they could not say for now that the warty pigs were infected with the African Swine Fever or another kind of virus.

Bukidnon was not included as a hotspot of the ASF after the disease infected several hogs in parts of Mindanao starting in 2019.

But as a safety measure, DENR-Bukidnon has issued an order banning the entry of swine, pork, and pork products into the park effective Feb. 1.

Tabamo said the Kitanglad Guard Volunteers will enforce the order on all visitors entering the park. (H. Marcos C. Mordeno/MindaNews)

Tribes to pursue sociocultural profiling in Kitanglad Range to aid in conservation efforts

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MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews / 28 October) – Elders of the three tribes inhabiting Mt. Kitanglad Range Natural Park in Bukidnon province on Thursday agreed to participate in the second phase of documenting cultural practices that could help the government in its efforts to conserve the protected area’s rich biodiversity.

Titled “Sociocultural Mapping and Documentation of ASEAN Heritage Parks,” the project received funding from the Biodiversity Management Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

Mt. Kitanglad became an ASEAN Heritage Park in 2009.

The documentation will cover batasan (cultural norms), customary laws, beliefs as well as resource management practices, among others. It will also identify sacred sites in the park. Baylans (spiritual leaders) and other practitioners of indigenous culture will serve as key informants.

“These things were not recognized by the educational and legal system,” Talaandig chieftain Datu Makapukaw Adolino Saway, who initiated the project, said during the meeting here Thursday with DENR-Bukidnon staff and the research team.

Saway said indigenous knowledge and practices must be documented, and if possible, institutionalized to ensure their preservation and continuity.

“A team of experienced researchers and cultural profilers known to the Kitanglad Council of Elders have been engaged to do this daunting task,” Forester Merlita Tabamo, Protected Area Superintendent of Mt. Kitanglad said.

Tabamo said that in Northern Mindanao, the projects include two other sites, the Mt. Malindang Range Natural Park in Misamis Occidental and Zamboanga del Norte, and Mt. Timpoong Hibok-Hibok Natural Monument in Camiguin.

The project also covers parks in Regions 11 and 12, Caraga and MIMAROPA, she added.

Easterluna Canoy, executive director of Kitanglad Integrated NGOs (KIN) who leads the research team that will do the profiling activity, noted the importance of indigenous culture to biodiversity conservation.

She said this is reflected in at least three laws – the National Integrated Protected Areas System Act and its expanded version, Mt. Kitanglad Protected Area Act, and Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act.

Section 2 (Declaration of Policy) of the Mt. Kitanglad Act states, “…The State shall ensure the protection of biodiversity, sustainable and participatory development, advance and protect the interests of its legitimate inhabitants and honor customary laws.”

Section 6 (Management Plan) of the same law provides for zoning that shall “give primary consideration to the traditional zones used and recognized by indigenous cultural communities.”

The profiling activity serves as a follow-through of a similar one done about three years ago by KIN and funded by the United States Agency for International Development. Its output is contained in the book titled “The Wisdom Keepers of Mt. Kitanglad” and published in 2018.

Tabamo said the output of the research can also help in Mt. Kitanglad’s bid to be listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

She said the Protected Area Management Board has approved a resolution to apply for such recognition but that they lack cultural data to support it.

The mountain range straddles 28 barangays in Malaybalay City and the towns of Manolo Fortich, Sumilao, Impasugong, Talakag, Baungon, Libona and Lantapan.

The first profiling project covered Malaybalay, Impasugong and Lantapan. The current one will include the remaining five areas.

Threats

Leodie Caare, a tribal leader in Barangay Dahilayan, lamented during the same meeting that Mt. Kitanglad is facing threats, particularly the illegal selling of lands to investors in the protected area’s buffer zone.

“Tua na ang daghang investor’s tungod sa dalan. Angay nato ning tabangan,” (Many investors are already there because of the road. We have to work together.) Caare said.

Dahilayan, a buffer zone of Mt. Kitanglad in Manolo Fortich town, has become well-known as a resort and other tourist attractions.

Caare, chief of the Kitanglad Guard Volunteers in his barangay, was ambushed on October 15 last year. Colleagues believed the attack was related to his opposition to the alleged illegal sale of lands in the buffer zone.

The incident forced Caare to seek refuge in a neighboring province for almost a year.