PETITION SEEKS MT. GUITING-GUITING ROAD WORKS STOPPAGE

Being compared several times with the Galapagos Islands for its rich biodiversity, Mt. Guiting-guiting boasts of having at least 700 vascular plant species, including 54 species that can only be found in the province

A non-government organization (NGO) of Romblon natives protecting the Sibuyan Islands’ ecology and culture drew up an online signature campaign to halt the resumption of construction works on the Magdiwang-San Fernando National Road as it encroaches on the protected area of Mt. Guiting-guiting, the highest mountain in the Romblon province.

Bayay Sibuyanon addressed the petition to President Rodrigo Duterte, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Mt. Guiting-guiting Natural

Park Protected Area Management

Board and the local government units of Sibuyan Island to stop the construction of the road as it would destroy the natural flora and fauna in the protected area.

“We were able to stop this project in 2018, we will do this again this year, and beyond,” said the group in their petition, which has already reached 3,111 signatures as of this writing.

In April 2018, the DPWH halted clearing operations for the planned road works on the Magdiwang-San Fernando National Road, a 3.8-kilometer cross-country road which leads to the Magdiwang Port, following similar appeals of several NGO opposing its commencement.

In the petition, Bayan Sibuyanon demanded to investigate the process on how the project was included in the 2020 General Appropriations Act without any feasibility study or allegedly any kind of consultation with proper agencies as the project was already previously halted by the DPWH itself.

It also demanded the prioritization and funding of unfinished infrastructure projects such as the circumferential and farm to market roads, bridges, ports and the airport.

The group also cited the importance of the violation of Republic Act

11038 or the Expanded National

Integrated Protected Areas System Act of 2018 and Proclamation 746 series of 1996 which declares Mt. Guiting-guiting as a protected area.

Mt. Guiting-guiting, named after a Rombloanon word to describe its jagged peaks, is a popular destination for daredevil mountaineers as one of the technically difficult mountains to climb in the country. Being compared several times with the Galapagos Islands for its rich biodiversity, Mt. Guiting-guiting boasts of having at least 700 vascular plant species, including 54 species that can only be found in the province.

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF MYTRAVELDIGEST.COM Jagged little peaks Mt. Guiting-guiting, considered by mountaineers as one of the toughest to climb in the country, is at the center of a non-government organization’s campaign to halt a road project to be built in its protected area as construction works is said to affect the park’s rich and diverse flora and fauna.