STAIRWAY TO MT. APO PEAK HITS FIRST SNAG; MAGPET TOWN CLAIM IT’S IN THEIR TERRITORY

The controversial proposal of the Kidapawan City Tourism Office to build a 7-kilometer concrete stairway to the peak of the country’s highest mountain and one of the acknowledged homes of the Philippine Eagle encountered its first bump after the town of Magpet said the area where the structure will be built is inside its political boundary.

Last Friday, Magpet Mayor Efren Pinol, my younger brother, showed me the map of the town of Magpet and the area where the proposed concrete stairway will be constructed.

“As soon as the trail crosses Marbol River, the area is already inside the political boundary of the town of Magpet because our natural boundary with the City of Kidapawan is the river,” he told me last Friday as he pointed out the site of the proposed project on the map.

Helped by Magpet employee and fellow mountain climber Karl Tanaid, Mayor Efren also showed a satellite map defining the boundaries of the City of Kidapawan and the town of Magpet, which was carved out from Kidapawan.

Kidapawan, Magpet, Makilala and the Province of North Cotabato are the local government units who have areas located at the foot of Mt. Apo which at 10,311 feet (some claim it is 9,692 feet) is the highest mountain in the country.

All of these government units are members of the Parks Area Management Board (PAMB) which is chaired by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) director.

It is the PAMB which supervises the Mt. Apo Natural Park.

While he did not categorically state the official position of the Municipality of Magpet on the proposed 16,620-step concrete stairway which will snake through the virgin rainforests of the mountain all the way up to the peak where bonsai trees grow naturally, Mayor Efren said the proposed project will have to be discussed in the PAMB.

“There has to be a consensus among the LGUs who belong to the PAMB,” he said.

The proposed concrete stairway, which will also include other concrete structures on the way up, is being opposed by environmentalists and nature lovers who believe that the project will destroy the natural beauty of the the mountain which is one of the few remaining rainforests in the country with centuries old almaciga and tinikaran trees including rare flora and fauna.

(photo caption: Magpet Mayor Efren Pinol, in white, shows the boundaries of the City of Kidapawan and the town of Magpet in a satellite generated map in his office.)