TUBA, Benguet – The Cordillera office of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR-CAR) said the famous Mount Sto. Tomas forest reservation will soon be opened to tourists once concerned government agencies and the local government finalises the forest and land use plan pursuant to the writ of kalikasan issued by the Court of Appeals (CA) over the portions of the reservation.
Engr. Ralph Pablo, DENR-CAR regional executive director, said it will just be a matter of time when portions of the reservation will open to tourists as the forest and land use plan for the area must be consulted with the concerned stakeholders for them to understand their respective roles once the area will be opened to regulated tourism.
Earlier, the municipal government requested the DENR to open portions of the reservation for tourism purposes for the Yuletide season to help generate additional resources for the local government.
However, Pablo claimed the forest land use plan for the whole 3,000-hectare reservation is still being finalized by the agency after which, it will be subjected to further consultations with the stakeholders to gather their inputs before it is finalized and implemented.
Mount Sto. Tomas attracted public attention when a portion was used as La Presa, the main setting of the television series “Forever More” aired over one of the major television channels for a certain period of time and attracted a deluge of foreign and domestic visitors.
Mayor Ignacio Rivera claimed the local government collected more than P4 million in environmental fees at the height of the La Presa fever which was used to fund some priority development projects of the municipality in the said area, thus the importance of segregating portions of the reservation for ecotourism purposes to raise the income of locality through the collection of environmental fees.
Pablo explained there is a tedious process in the formulation of the forest and land use plan for the whole reservation and the conduct of the required consultations with stakeholders and local officials should be patient in order to comply with the writ of kalikasan handed down by the CA to prevent a repeat of the worst-case scenario that could happen to the area if prescribed plans are done half-baked.
He expressed confidence that the stakeholders give inputs into the formulated forest and land use plan to guarantee the maximum utilization of the property as an ecotourism destination in the municipality and an alternative must-see place outside Baguio City.
By HENT
This is a misleading article. The DENR has no time frame on their Management Plan when to open the forest reserve to tourism.