BRIEFING FOR METRO CLARK ADVISORY COUNCIL
RE: RESOLUTION TO BOOT OUT DIR. TIOTUICO
I believe that one of the reasons why I am invited to this august body is for me to explain my side on the issue of the issuance of a travel advisory on trekking to Mt. Pinatubo in the aftermath of the August 6 tragedy that claimed the lives of three (3) foreigners and a number of local guides and miners.
Allow me to thank the members of the council for giving me the privilege and due courtesy of listening to the other side of the story for I believe that it is only thru this channel that things are clarified and given just dispensation.
For the information of this body, I issued the travel advisory on August 17, 2009, or 11 days following the incident and it is summed up with a statement that DOT will stop recommending the trekking activity to foreign and local visitors and to DOT-accredited stakeholders and major players in the industry indefinitely until the necessary safety features are put in place.
Let me cite to this august body the several reasons or the series of events why I issued such advisory which to the mind of the parties concerned is bound to affect the livelihood of the people that depend on the trekking activity:
1. The Department of Tourism, as provided for in Executive Order No. 120 of 1987 and now the RA 9593 otherwise known as the National Tourism Act of 2009, is in charge of promoting and developing tourism as a major socio-economic activity and of ensuring the safety, convenience and enjoyable stay of tourists to the country. Likewise, the same law empowers the DOT to issue travel advisories against tourism enterprises that are found to have been remiss in their responsibilities and functions.
2. Since early March of 2006, the regional office has always been openly opposed to the construction of a “skyway” on a mountain trail that, according to the parties concerned is an old logging trail, but, to the scientific mind of our volcanologists, is now a totally different road following the eruption of the volcano. The old sturdy logging trail has now become a frail and fragile mountain of loose volcanic debris, sand and ash waiting to be washed down the drain at the slightest raindrop. I know this for a fact because we initiated the trekking program in 1999 in the same barangay in Sta. Juliana until the local govt unit took over from us in 2005. We always recommended and took the natural trail – the O’ Donnell river channel as the gateway to the volcano.
3. And so, upon learning of this development, I immediately wrote DENR a letter dated March 06, 2006, informing them of the road construction and the threats and danger it poses to the lives and limbs of tourists and the need for an environmental clearance in the process. On April 23, 2006, we issued a press statement entitled “DOT opposes trailblazing project to Pinatubo” expressing the same issues and an accompanying warning to the tourism public. Just to keep you well-informed, the construction of the skyway costs millions of pesos to complete. And the investors keep on spending additional millions to re-start the construction after a typhoon crushes down what has been done before. No wonder, there is now a toll fee of P500 per vehicle.
4. We also issued a similar letter to Phivolcs in May 2006 advising them of such development and seeking its advice on the issue. In turn, Phivolcs issued an advisory expressing its concern over this development further saying that any infrastructure development should be implemented by DPWH or DILG to see to it that the area specific plan is followed, for non-structural development, DENR should be consulted and Phivolcs, for volcanic hazards and monitoring activities. Similarly, Phivolcs warned against the practice of allowing people to conduct kayaking, swimming or doing aqua-cycling on the crater lake shoreline as this poses danger to one’s health.
5. In spite of these concerns about the infrastructure development, we at the regional office continued to promote the trekking activity to the volcano on a regular basis, even to the extent of inviting international media such as press and TV just to keep program ongoing but not without a warning to our clients that the skyway is not safe enough due to lack of safety features. In fact our website keeps this warning notice posted all the time.
6. Then things turned sour when in April 2006, local residents in Sta. Juliana reported to us of an accident involving five (5) Korean nationals. Apparently, their vehicle turned on its side due to loose or soft foundation on the trail causing the passengers to suffer varying degrees of injury. Here again, I sounded the alarm for people to guard against using the skyway. Then, on January 17, 2009, Jean Christophe Gaillard, a French visiting professor in Geography at the University of the Philippines, reported thru my email a similar accident involving his friends and family members while on their way to the crater via skyway. Some of them suffered major injuries and was then seeking a medical report for insurance claim purposes. Many more incidents of similar nature have been reported in the past. I can only refer you to the local residents in the know.
7. Still, we continued to do our share in promoting the crater as a major destination.
8. Until on August 6, 2009, when tragedy struck. The youthful and vibrant lives of three foreigners and scores of local guides and miners were snapped instantly. An avalanche of volcanic debris fell on them instantly killing them. Some victims lost an arm and a leg because of the rampaging floodwater, according to an autopsy report.
9. To the proponents of the trekking activity, it was an act of God. It was an accident. The weather was perfect that early morning. So the guests were signed up and allowed entry.
10. To others, it was an act of God that could have been prevented. It was an accident waiting to happen.
11. Why do we say this? The day before the tragedy, August 5, a heavy downpour brought excessive damage to a wide expanse of the region. The Botolan area in Zambales was inundated by rampaging floodwater which stopped all human and vehicular traffic to the area. Closer to home, a small bridge in Patling, I believe, which is close to Sta. Juliana was heavily damaged by the typhoon causing local officials to make emergency repair to make it passable.
12. The Philippine Daily Inquirer bannered a story on August 6, the day the tragedy struck, that, and I quote, Typhoon Kiko intensifies and that local residents are advised to be cautious against floodwaters and landslides.
13. I recall during that aftermath meeting on August 26 with Governor Yap, Mayor Catacutan and a host of Pinatubo drivers, one of the experienced mountaineers present during the meeting and who made a survey of the accident area as telling the body that it is a standard procedure for mountaineers to stop from doing treks at least three days before and three days after a typhoon. Apparently, this rule was not followed in this case. Typhoon Kiko was brewing then and gaining strength even more.
14. Against all these warning signs and weather disturbances, why did we allow trekking to take place?
15. We started out making life easy for the Korean tourists by building a short-cut toll expressway for them on their way to the volcano. We ended up short-cutting the lives of seven people, and only God knows how many more lives….. We could hardly find any reason to justify the death of so many people.
16. It was at this point when the DOT had to make a hard decision – a decision which could have a negative economic impact on the local community which depend on the program for their livelihood. We issued the travel advisory against the protest of many like our local tour operators and transport service providers.
17. Let us keep in mind that the travel advisory does not stop any one from resuming the program whether in the midst of a storm or not. We have no power to do that. What we did was to stop RECOMMENDING the trekking activity to our DOT-accredited establishments until such time that all the safety features and imprimatur from concerned agencies are put in place. It is all apt to the service providers to abide by the advisory or not.
18. As a corollary to the information here given, I wish to advance the information that it is the Korean spa town or the so-called PDC that operates the trekking activity in Sta. Juliana. Of course, it is their duty therefore to recoup their investment in so quick a time possible. The recent accident that took place underscores this opinion.
19. In the tourism parlance, there is such a thing as carrying capacity consideration for a nature park. One can only take so many warm bodies at a given time, otherwise destruction to the environment will set in. In the case of our volcano in Zambales, owing to the vulnerability of the natural environment and ecology of the place, one can only admit so many people at the viewing deck or this will collapse under heavy weight. As it is, the viewing stage has already been cut in more than half leaving a smaller room for people to stand on and view the lake. Soon, we will lose all of it, thus depriving others of the opportunity to take a glance at the majestic beauty of Mt. Pinatubo. By cutting short the trekking time, one tends to attract more people there. But the cost to the environment is staggering. But that is another story.
20. Today, let me inform you that the volcano crater has been transformed into a theme park with all the features of a modern city square complete with beautifully manicured greenery and landscape, flowery plants, well-paved and cemented viewing deck, concrete steps with handrail, cottages and a convenience store – all to make life easy for the Korean tourists (they make up a big percentage of tourists). This was made possible at a staggering cost to the Korean investors. Thanks to the landscape artist who did the master plan for because of him we lost the pristine, immaculate, and untouched natural beauty and majesty of Mt. Pinatubo whose eruption ended the lives of close to a thousand people. Apu Malyari must be rising and cursing from the grave now. To top it all, there is a report that a maintenance fee of P250 per person will allegedly be charged to tourists wanting to enter the caldera or crater. This story recalls to mind the aborted Taal Volcano resort scandal last year.
21. While I was writing this statement on Sept. 19, I received a text message from one of the members of the tourism council in Tarlac that the Mayor of Capas issued a travel advisory saying the Pinatubo course is still a NO GO, among other things. I am happy the mayor and myself are together on this issue. I just hope he does not get into trouble like me with his own constituents now - with his travel advisory.
FINALLY, LET ME ASSURE YOU, SIR, THAT WE ARE NOT INCLINED TO DEPRIVE THE LOCAL PEOPLE OF STA. JULIANA NOR THE KOREAN INVESTORS OF THEIR LIVELIHOOD AND COMMERCE. WE ARE JUST FOLLOWING THE MANDATE OF DOT TO ENSURE THE SAFETY AND SECURITY OF TOURISTS, WHETHER FOREIGN OR LOCAL – ABOVE ALL OTHER CONSIDERATIONS. THIS WE INTEND TO PURSUE AT ALL COST.
NOW, IT IS ALL UP TO THIS AUGUST BODY TO DECIDE ON THE ISSUE AT HAND. IS THE ISSUANCE OF A TRAVEL ADVISORY JUSTIFED OR NOT?
Contact