Transcentral Walk Year 2

by Maria Eleanor E. Valeros, #newmedia specialist

:for#microadventurism

caption: Selfie taken by Kyle Basalo with this writer, Janskie Libre, Raymund Rodrigo, Renzo Reoyan, Arvin Ska Gonzales, Earl Haha, and Kerwen Repoylo.

CENTRAL CEBU PROTECTED LANDSCAPE, PHILIPPINES — Even crazy ideas work.

My #NewNormal series of microadventure pursuits kicked off last year via a 44-kilometer Transcentral Road Moon Walk (or Luna Trek, after mythological claim that Luna is goddess of the moon). It happened as planned because though connecting with somebody who shares same interest is a challenge, the universe conspires beautifully to such scheme.

One day, in my routine commuting to Cebu City for my job, I happened to sit behind two young backpackers. The convergence inspired me to start a conversation. I learned they were from Talavera, Toledo City and were headed for Osmena Peak in Dalaguete town in southeast Cebu. From there, they would cross to Kawasan Falls (Badian town) via a five-hour hike.

If there’s an apt word to describe the camaraderie, I would call Renzo Reoyan and Kyle Basalo my ka-wavelength (of the same wavelength), ka-bandwidth (or sharing the same bandwidth capacity/coverage). We believe that even crazy ideas can work perfectly. We went to complete our very first Transcentral Moon Walk! Or the very first done on that part of earth.

Pain soused the journey, literally! The backbreaking uphill at the start of the walk and the steep downhill past Barangay Ga-as (part of Balamban) were just too much to bear. It was the silliest hike I’ve done in my life, 44 kilometers in 14 hours. We started late afternoon of Feb. 15, 2014 (Sat.), and reached Brgy. Aliwanay at Poblacion Balamban at the burst of a Sunday skyline. That’s about 3,300 feet for every kilometer covered!

Kyle’s foot hurt badly, so when I joked about a “return trip” (tackling the walk this time from Balamban back to Cebu City), he groaned at the idea. Or was it roared?

By December I realized it was more of a roar from a hiker with a lion’s heart.

It was December when he tagged me on FB a shirt design he made marked “The Walk First Anniversary,” so I was kind of surprised. I thought he would never ever sink his teeth again into the idea. But I was completely wrong, as there Kyle was preparing for the shirts, calling on his friends to join, preparing trail foods. And there I was tinkering on my keyboard not sure whether I should pledge for a “reverse walk.” I presume my ego was hiding somewhere, rolling its charcoal eyes at me, huffing and puffing with a litany of expletives. Should I say to Kyle, I’m outtah here? But Kyle’s desire is Medusa out of Zeus’ cranky head.

It was offbeat. It was off the beaten track. But the three of us committed to a “return trip” to seal a fact that we were the first bunch to do that – and to have done so both ways – undisputed in the annals of Cebuhumankind.

It was such an absurd idea indeed. We have not done it on a February 3 with a full moon. We did it on a 15^th again which means Luna’s phase is headed to a new moon. So we can’t be on a pitch dark road for a long time. We decided to do it on broad daylight. And that was when I almost succumbed to heatstroke. I hate the timing, but love the company so much because it has grown to eight pax. There’s Arvie Ska Gonzales, Earl Haha, Raymund “Digoy” Rodrigo, Kerwen “Settle Bus” Repoylo for additions, and Janskie Libre, a friend I have kept since Bisrock days.

We failed to beat our record of 14 hours. We left Balamban at past 8 a.m. and reached JY Square in Lahug by 1 a.m. already. We had to rest a number of times along the way, seeking shelter at a DPWH field office at high noon. Newayz, we have mutually agreed to meet our goal. But also changed our bloody minds about any further transcentral walks. The anniversary already sealed a consumed effort.###

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To join the second anniversary walk on Feb. 15, 2016, email me at eleanor.newmedia@gmail.com or FB: Eleanor Newmedia. Probable route: Mantalongon, Dalaguete-Alegria, south of Cebu.

Stewards of our last forest

by Maria Eleanor E. Valeros, #newmedia specialist

caption: This writer (third from left) with Rene “Tatay Ete” Vendiola (fourth from left) and fellow Cebu media practitioners with Ramon Aboitiz Foundation, Inc. staff.

TABUNAN, UPLAND CEBU, CENTRAL PHILIPPINES — “Leave the beaten track behind occasionally and dive into the woods. Everytime you do you will be certain to find something you’ve never seen before.”

This Alexander Graham Bell wisdom hits me smack dab again during a forest tour with 5th Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. Triennial Awards finalist Rene “Tatay Ete” Vendiola and Tabunan forest warden Lucrecio “Oking” Son.

Fifty-nine-year-old Vendiola, cited for his best practices in rainforestation through initiation of the two-hectare demonstration farm in Bacong (Negros Oriental) dubbed “Liptong Woodlands,” and 52-year-old Son, team leader of 13 other forest stewards under the initiative of the Cebu Biodiversity Conservation Foundation Inc., led 25 tour participants to a patch forest in a 166-hectare protected area in Cebu City’s mountain barangay of Tabunan which is part of the Central Cebu Protected Landscape – home to the elusive and critically endangered Cebu flowerpecker and the Black shama or the “siloy.”

Vendiola’s vast knowledge of trees and vines, as shown by his articulateness in scientific names not only in genuses but on a variety of species, stemmed from his being former research associate and field assistant (biodiversity assessment) of the Silliman University Biology Department (1974 to 1981) and Silliman University Center for Tropical Conservation Studies (1998 to 2004).

So even when Vendiola hasn’t completed his secondary education, he earned the trust and respect of notable local and foreign arborists, ornithologists, and botanists, like the late Dr. Leonard Co.

“Sa una maglisod ko pag-encourage sa mga tawo kay lagi mangita man silag dunay Ph.D.,” so he started devouring books on related materials. That’s how he grew in knowledge and wisdom on the importance of trees. In a lecture few meters away from the forest line, he emphasized how forests act as carbon sinks.

Carbon sinks are natural or artificial reservoirs that accumulate and store some carbon-containing chemical compound for an indefinite period. The process by which carbon sinks remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is known as carbon sequestration. Trees, especially the hardwoods, absorb carbon dioxide at an average of 50 pounds per tree per year, studies read.

Meanwhile, Son who is literally a child of Tabunan shared that of 14 aspirants recruited for forest stewardship, he was the only one who passed the test with flying colors. “Ambot bitaw, pero maayo tingali gyod kog pandungog kay makaila man gyod ko sa mga tingog ug taghoy sa langgam, dali ra ko ka-identify sa species,” he said. So, he was appointed team leader.

Together they ushered us to a Manunggal tree, to my excitement, because I only associate that name to a mountain. How naive!

There were around four of us who took turns in hugging the tree, crazy also to connect to the heartwood where, Vendiola said, the tree beats for us. “Dili lang gyod na siya makasulti, pero kita bitaw mo nga mo-communicate na siya. Moluyloy ang dahon if uhawon, or mangapulak ang buwak if masakit.”

Such principle sent us forewarned on the impact of our noise on a “breathing forest,” as we were about to enter the forest line prior to the identification of tree species. “Ang ilang voice maoy angay nato madunggan, dili ang ato,” Vendiola said.

The Manunggal tree bears old scars but has at least regenerated a new skin, however a fresh cut is also carved out next to the crust. From the wound oozed scarlet sap, resembling fresh droplets of blood. “Pait ni siya pero maayo man god nis bughat, so ang mga tawo diri mogamit ani isip tambal,” Son explained.

Another interesting find is the Tipolo tree. True that this species is towering and monstrous.

Vendiola’s conversion to being staunch advocate for the environment is described to be “metastatic” – or that kind of spirit which spreads by invasion. He said he was initially inspired by then mountain climber Joy Augustus Young (now Cebu City vice mayor). “Slash and burn farmer ko sa una, nya kana si Joy Young bata pa na siya adto, he explained to me nga gi-destroy daw nako ang mga microorganisms sa yuta. Nya naka-learn ko sa mga environmentalists. Mo-evolve man gyod ta tungod sa atong kahibalo nya nanakod sad ang examples sa mga environmentalists sa pag-atiman sa kalikopan aron maka-encourage tag mga nagkadaiyang buhi (biodiversity),” Vendiola pointed out.

As for his special interest in Tabunan, Vendiola cited that since it is a remnant forest (or just 0.01 percent remaining of Cebu’s forest), it forms part of our heritage. It should be nurtured as source of seedlings for reintroduction and further propagation. “Mao ni nabiling handumanan nga kakuhaan og semilya, karaan pa nis atong ginikanan. Nya atong ulingon?”

Son, on the other hand, is active in monitoring the “Preventing extinctions program” with CBCFI on a two-hectare buffer zone where Tugas (Vitex parviflora or Molave),Pangantuon (Pittosporum pentandrum Mamalis), Bagilumbang (Reutealis trisperma or Philippine tung), Lumbang (Aleurites moluccana or Candlenut tree), Tagibokbok (Gomphandra apoensis), Langin (Micromelum caudatum), and Akle (Albizia akle, premium hardwood) were planted last December 2011.

This is in line with CBCFI’s different projects ranging from biological research, to forest replantation, rehabilitation, regeneration and protection, and also community organization.

When asked on his participation to forest conservation in the spirit of volunteerism, Son explained that the forest is actually his home. “Konektado man god ta ana niya. If maguba na dinha, kami ra man sad taga dinhi ang makaluluoy kay mawad-an mig kabuhian, nagsalig man mi tanan ana dinha — medicine, carbon capture, food consumption.”

Initially, he was given a monthly stipend of P14,000 which he divided equally among his fellow stewards. “Pero sa previous to nga project dinhi. Karon naay P400, pero sige lang kay naa man tay uma, anha ra mi mikuha og kabuhian,” he said.

It is noticed that the area has an agricultural tramline facility for easy transport of farm produce, however Son’s wife shared power source is still a big problem. “Weak naman god na siyag baterya,” she said.

The RAFI Triennial Awards, initiated in 1996, is a search for exemplary individual and outstanding institution in the Visayas and Mindanao areas, recognizing the philanthropic, humanitarian and holistic efforts of individuals and institutions in enhancing the quality of life of various groups and communities. Meanwhile, the Cebu Biodiversity Conservation Foundation, Inc. is a group which aims to conserve the biodiversity of Cebu, particulary focusing on the unique and endemic species of the island. (First published in The FREEMAN, April 2012)