#saveMtApo

IMPORTANT NOTE:

If you want to volunteer for the Mt. Apo mission, preferably with mountaineering experience, they needed more RUNNERS to deliver water and foods to the front-liner of the mission, hiking forth and back for hours, if you think you are capable to do the responsibility and is interested or have something to help please contact Mr. Rey P. Llanes. Thank you and God bless!

After 5 days vacation away from the usual daily routine: no work, no TV, no radio, no internet. Just when we came back home and checked on my facebook, I was terrified to hear about the news that Mt. Apo is on raging forest fire, at least a part of its 200 hectares has been engulfed with fire and would devastate further if not prevented. Thanks to the brave responders and volunteers who have risk their lives battling to aid the need of saving one of the natures’ wonderful creations. Right now, they have contained some parts of the mountain but still doing their best to completely put an end to this awful incident. Let’s just pray that everyone will be safe after everything is under control.

To what I know, forest fire can be a natural occurrence and/or man-made disaster but anyhow it will mainly distress the ecosystem of the environment, the flora and fauna which habitat were established within the affected region. Further, if it doesn’t prevented and reached the nearby community it will surely affect their livelihood and people may lost their homes. The smog, when inhaled may cause serious pulmonary problems specially among the kids whose immune system can’t tolerate such harsh atmospheric condition.

"Whatever Nature has in store for mankind, unpleasant as it may be, men must accept, for ignorance is never better than knowledge."
Enrico Fermi (1901 - 1954)
Italian-born U.S. physicist.

A month ago, while we’re having a beer session with my new found friend, he asked me if I have ever climb on Mt. Apo before, how I wish I did but never have I walk at least on its foothill, thus, that would be no. Then we made plans and scheduled the adventure on the holy week and I just can’t wait for that day to come.

I’ve been mesmerizing to see the mountain up-close ‘coz since I was a kid, I’ve been watching it from the balcony. Yes, right in front of our house is the view of the mighty Mt. Apo. I remember when we had a telescope powerful enough to zoom into the mountain ‘til you can recognize a particular tree, there I found out that there are camps or stations built solving the mystery of why there seems to be a huge bonfire (probably the lighting distorted by the atmosphere like in the case of the stars) during the night. During rainy seasons the mountain would appear like a huge silhouette of a dinosaur-like-Godzilla and in the clear and bright days it would look stunningly beautiful revealing the vibrant and flourished vegetation. I also observed the windblown clouds firsthand that I thought I’d only read on the book and when that large fluffy cumulus cloud passes through it casts a shadow on the mountain as if it was an Alien mothership like in sci-fi movies.

Mt. Apo do fascinates me making me so much excited to experience what it was like to be there. While some lucky people told their stories of the difficulty to survive the mountain, my hopes still remains high. If I was born during the tertiary period, I’d still be alive as of today (*sarcasm*). I envy them actually by looking at their captured moments on the mountain, I mean not them doing the “Y” post but the surroundings (looooser!).

However, I was waiting for my new found friend to confirm the plan, the going into Mt. Apo. Holy week was fast approaching and still nothing, so I guess he’s just driven by false promises, the usual thing happen when people befuddled due to alcohol. Then I decided to go with my family at the province, there we memorialize the holy week but it’s a different story.

Human civilization have evolved progressively to improve the human life and to develop furthermore for our own benefits, advancing to technology and creating remarkable inventions until such time when we’re able to go into the depths of the ocean and travel beyond our own planet. We built skyscrapers and man-made islands, we’re able to communicate on the other side of the globe, we can now travel by land, by sea, or by air, and we’re still looking forward for the things that are yet to discover.

Who needs a mountain anyway? When we live in cities without verdant unique vegetation and free roaming endangered animals. When we’re certainly sure that there’s no such forest fire that would ever occur at the highway intersection. And when going into malls without having to climb on slopy hills. Such a waste of life.

Things maybe a lot easier than before, more attractive than the other, and more convenient than it used to be. It’s how human being would always choose to prefer—the easy way. Though it’s not entirely bad ‘coz me myself would have chosen the same thing if given the situation of difficulty but sometimes, just sometimes, let us pay respect to Mother Nature. This is not just about what’s currently happening in Mt. Apo but I’m calling everyone to let’s unite in preserving the nature, we may disregard the pain it endures as long as we can still live on this world and die without having to suffer the future catastrophe when things are getting worst, a tremendous catastrophe awaits for our future generation if not, at least, prevented.


SAVE MT. APO!