Climbing Sibulan’s Mt. Buribid Peak, 1410 MASL

 The newest hiking site which was opened in Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur on August 31, 2024 is Mt. Buribid Peak, located in the more famous Mt. Sibulan before and now officially called the Buribid Mountain Range with more or less four peaks and stretches all the way to Binaton, Digos City – the last peak being Mt. Tambudlot of Digos. The bigger portion, though, of the mountain belongs to Sta. Cruz that covers barangay Sibulan, Tibolo, Jose Rizal and Sinoron. The first peak which is part of sitio Dariango in Sibulan, is the one considered for ecotourism activity based on the Memorandum of Agreement forged by the Sibulan Tribal Council, the Barangay Council, Municipal Tribal Council and the Indigenous Peoples Organization of the Unified Bagobo-Tagabawa Ancestral Domain.

Mt. Buribid is a dense forest of dipterocarp species, with bryophytes and other plant species available. Trekking distance is 6.5 kilometers from Sibulan Barangay Hall and elevation at the summit is 1,410 meters above sea level, making it the tallest minor hiking site in Sta. Cruz. The southern slope of Buribid Peak is consist of beautiful sceneries of Bamboo Peak, Langit-langit Peak, the enchanting Mt. Libodon and Mt. Dinor of Sinoron. The head waters of Biga Falls is also located here. Other good sceneries which can be seen and experience along the trail to Buribid Peak are Panulidan Waterfalls, Sibulan River, Century-old Balite Tree and Century-old Lauan Tree.  

Datu Gideon Tolentino, the tribal chieftain of Sibulan Cluster 1, is consistent in saying that the intention of opening Mt. Buribid for trekking is a mechanism for them to sustainably manage this portion of their ancestral land, noting that it may not be the best remedy for conservation but is definitely the only way. Following a very successful ecotourism project in their other area Tomari Waterfalls, Datu Gideon believes now is the best time for them to sweep opportunities of protecting the mountain through community-based, diversity-friendly tourism activity so that the member of its tribal community will also be provided with additional income. For now there are around 25 new mountain guides trained to propel trekking activity in Buribid Peak.

Camping will be strictly prohibited in the summit of Mt. Buribid, but the area of Datu Gideon in sitio Dariango serves as basecamp for guests who opt for Day Zero camping. Day hike is a cool option but it should be started very early like 5:00 to 6:00 in the morning to complete the trek earlier. It is mandatory to hire a local guide with service fee that starts at 1,000 pesos per group. A 50-peso registration fee will also be collected by the tribal council through its partner Indigenous Peoples Organization, the Sibulan Tribal Farmers Association.

The last water source available is at kilometer 4.2 (840 MASL) but not really reliable as it might be sometimes unavailable. The basecamp in Dariango is the best place to refill water and buy essential stuff before start trekking. The rest of the trail going up are pure farm lands and forest and for now no community providing services such as sari-sari stores and stopovers. 

For inquiries and further details about trekking in Mt. Buribid, please contact Datu Gideon https://www.facebook.com/datujun.tolentino or Mr. Joel Owe https://www.facebook.com/owe.joel with mobile number 09076932939. Again, the barangay hall of Sibulan (310 MASL) serves as the official registration site while the basecamp in sitio Dariango (540 MASL) is a monitoring station where permits will be checked. 

Sanchez Mira town and the Grey-faced Buzzard

The municipality of Sanchez Mira is located in the province of Cagayan. It is intermediated by two gateways namely, the city of Laoag in Ilocos Norte and Tuguegarao. In my only visit to this town last March 23-26 I discovered that there are interesting things in Sanchez Mira other than its tourism attractions and laid back setting. Situated in the northern tip of the Philippines, this municipality had been hosting flock of Grey-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus), a migratory raptor wintering in the Philippines being part of its migration flyway.

Sanchez Mira successfully embedded its existence with Grey-faced Buzzard, making it a flagship species of the town which eventually underscored wildlife conservation and avian tourism. The leaders here, headed by Mayor Abraham Bagasin, injected a notion that development should not impair nature, something that other leaders should look into and emulate.

No wonder, Sanchez Mira was the perfect venue for the 4^th International Summit for Grey-faced Buzzard and other Migratory Raptors. This event spanned for four years already and hosted by different countries such as Japan, Malaysia and Taiwan. Several conservationists and bird enthusiasts from these countries convened in Sanchez Mira on March 23-25 for rigorous discourse, fostering alliances, and promoting sustainable practices in wildlife conservation and nature-based tourism.

Personally, this summit has rewired me to my childhood experience with Grey-faced Buzzard and other common resident raptors in the Philippines. We call this bird TIKWI, while the other raptor Brahminy Kite (Haliastur indus) was locally christened as BANOG. Yes, we patterned our childhood game to these two – Tikwi-Banog. The two reasons I enjoyed so much as a kid in the countryside before now serve as reasons of my passion for conservation.

Anyway, what I got out of that summit? Definitely a lot, but I was impressed with the declaration which I got involved with as participant, which is to:

 

1. Sustain information, education and communication movements every year, and institutionalize wildlife studies in the academe.

2. Advocate for science-based legislation on the local level, complementing our countries’ national laws on wildlife protection, with special focus on the Grey-faced Buzzard and vulnerable or endangered migratory raptors and their habitat.

3. Weigh the impact of local development plans and investment plans and recalibrate these to ensure the scientific placement of clean energy and commercial or residential land use, in such a way that will not jeopardize habitats of the Grey-faced Buzzard and other migratory raptors and birds.

4.  Innovate programs and protocols for ecotourism, based on sincere deference for wildlife movement within their habitats, as well as on respect for local culture.

It is commendable that Sanchez Mira hosted the summit with a lot of learning points to ponder. First, they make Grey-faced Buzzard a flagship species of its town when the bird is still classified as Least Concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Here I realized that it does not necessarily take for a species to be Endangered of Critically Endangered to be conserved and protected. Second, wildlife should be treated as an important piece of creation which in my opinion should as well be accorded respect by protecting their habitat in a circular approach. Instead of building cages as shelter why can’t we expand our forest ecosystems so that these wildlife species will flourish and can multiply naturally? It is about time to erase that tradition of utilizing wildlife as a commodity for fund-raising project.

I am one with Engr. Arthur Ibañez of Cagayan State University in saying that the Grey-faced Buzzard is not just a bird; it is a testament to our shared responsibility towards the natural world. It is therefore imperative to provide these creatures an unhindered sky where they can soar without the threat of fear.

Again, I am gratified by Director Tanya R. Tan of Department of Tourism XI for subsidizing my expenses to this trip, enabling me to visit other popular places in Luzon particularly in regions 1 and 2. And to my mayor in Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur Jose Nelson Z. Sala, Sr. through Municipal Administrator Omar Jason Martel for granting my request to join a very important event.

This will always be a great start to establish comprehensive effort for conservation and ecotourism. I promise to always be an agent for good things happening in the future.   

Weekend Trek in Limba Falls

I’ve been aching to visit Limba Falls in Sinoron because it is the only site left unexplored within the Sinoron Ecopark and the community had long been wanting to include this as another product for tourists to visit sooner than later. On January 13, 2024 I finally completed a day trek here with the Sinoron Tribal Workers Association and Indigenous People Youth group led by Billy Omang. Thank you for joining me in this trek Angel, Rexcie, Maimai, Javier and Nong Nerio.

Limba Falls is located in sition Karamagan, the same route we used during exploration of other sites such as Dumaok Falls, Kasisi Falls and Tacub Laya Falls taking the left track before entering the façade of Pilan River hanging bridge. This route also highlights several springs and creeks that authenticate Sinoron’s existence as the ultimate Water World of Sta. Cruz.

The trail is a plantation of assorted perennial crops like cardava, fruit trees, abaca and coconut. It has lesser settlement though compared to sitio Sangay and it edged in a rock wall flanking barangay Saliducon and the dominant Tagaytay and Aré ridges. Another ridge stretching westward with a rolling terrain led us to the majestic Limba Falls cascading on a hard ledge of around 40 meters. The perimeter is surrounded with lush forest, serving home to attractive flora and fauna.

The distance to Limba Falls from barangay hall of Sinoron is 6.5 kilometers but with the road going to Pilan River now being constructed the best place to start the trek is at the bamboo junction of Pilan just before reaching the river to ease the strain of trekking in a paved road and to also give opportunity for motorcycle drivers to earn income, reducing the trekking distance to only 3 kilometers.

Some interesting stories are embedded with Limba Falls. My good friend Datu Danny Udal told me it hosted a rido settlement by the warriors from Sinoron and Sibulan in the 18^th century and it cost a slave’s life before the fighting clan finally mellowed down onward to resolving the long-time conflict. This waterfalls is sacred for the indigenous peoples, and while it is imperative to consider it for ecotourism there is a need to seek consent from the Indigenous Political Structure and other tribal leaders who have known the value of the waterfalls to the life of the Bagobo-Tagabawa.

Limba Falls definitely nourishes the residents of Sinoron by providing support system to their traditional farming methodology. It also nourishes their soul by leaving an indelible footprints of courage, determination and bravery. I hope that this waterfalls will continue to be of greater worth to the good people of my beloved barangay Sinoron.