TREASURE HUNTING IN MT. ISAROG NATURAL PARK:
A SOCIAL, ECOLOGICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEM

Last December 2, 2002, a group from INECAR, Ateneo de Naga University, visited the site of the controversial treasure hunting inside Mt. Isarog Natural Park (MINP) near Barangay Guinaban, Ocampo Camarines Sur. The group comprised of Ms. Joanaviva Caceres (Research Assistant), three Environmental Management majors (Eleanor Barbonio, Perry Buenavente and Kenn Ampongan) and the undersigned. Care Philippines provided the vehicle and contact person who introduced the group to a local people’s organization, the Barangay Guinaban Planters and Livelihood Association, Inc.(BAGPLAI), and the guides, one of which is a member of the Mt. Isarog Guardians (MIGS).

FINDINGS


  1. The treasure hunting site is about three kilometers from the barangay proper of Guinaban via a dirt road and is inside the Mt. Isarog Natural Park (MINP). Figures 1 and 2 show the exact location of the site.
Figure 1: A portion of Mt. Isarog, Ocampo side. The group of blue dots inside a pink circle represents the coordinates taken from a Global Positioning Instrument (GPS) that indicate the location of the controversial treasure hunting site inside the Mt. Isarog Natural Park. The red broken line represents the boundary between the barangays (Guinaban and Del Rosario) and the park.

Figure 2 (left): The large red dot represents the location of the controversial treasure hunting site in relation to the whole Mt. Isarog Natural Park. The boundary of the park is delineated by a beaded violet line . (source of Map: NIPAP, DENR-PAWB. 2000. MINP General Management Plan)
Figure 3A above is the opening of the Japanese tunnel. Figure 3B below is a room inside the tunnel:

Near this site is a tunnel (Figures 3A and 3B) left by a group of Japanese soldiers during World War II, presumably in connection with a Yamashita treasure buried in the area. There is one creek, Tabuan Creek, a tributary of Tinablanan River, that serves as the natural boundary between two barangays of Ocampo (Guinaban and Del Rosario) outside the park. A section of Tabuan Creek.has been destroyed by the treasure hunting activity. Figures 4A and 4B show the creek and Figure 4C shows the destroyed portion.


    Figures 4 A, B, and C: Tabuan Creek at the Mt. Isarog Natural Park. This creek is adjacent to the present treasure hunting site (blue arrow in C). A is the upstream section (red arrow in C); B is the downstream section (yellow arrow in C); and C shows the flattened portion of the creek located between A (red arrow) and B (yellow arrow). This portion was created by a backhoe in order to facilitate its movement during digging and transport.

  1. As reported by Park Superintendent (PaSu) Crisostomo Rivero, a certain Elena Lo started illegal excavation in Guinaban last July 2002. Ms. Lo owns EPL (Elena P. Lo) Construction, the company that brought the heavy equipment (backhoe) used in the diggings. The DENR PENRO Oscar Dominguez filed charges for illegal activity to Genaro Barte, the operator of the backhoe based on the recommendation of Park Superintendent (PaSu) Cris Rivero who apprehended Mr. Barte and made the necessary report. Figures 5 A and B show the activities of the backhoe and the resulting pits.
Figures 5A and B: The backhoe removing rocks and other materials from the presumed site where a Japanese treasure was presumed to be buried.

  1. Last April 3, 2002, Mr. Reynaldo B. Natalia (a resident of Lucena City) applied for a Treasure Hunting permit with the Mines and Geosciences Bureau in Quezon City through Director Horacio C. Ramos and was referred to the Regional DENR at Legazpi City in May 14, 2002 for Area and Status Clearance. (Annex 1).

    Earlier, on February 18 – 20, 2002, Mr. Natalia requested for a field assessment/verification from the Mines and Geosciences Bureau in Quezon City (Annex 2). The area applied for is one hectare measuring 50 x 200 sq. m. and where an abandoned illegal excavation is already existing. The total cost of the project is PHP990,000.00 as contained in the Initial Environmental Examination (IEE) document the proponent has submitted to DENR Region 5. The action of DENR Regional Executive Director Oscar Hamada was for the applicant to secure an approval and endorsement from the Protected Area Management Board (PAMB) of MINP (Annex 1).
  1. The new pits (Figures 6 and 7) adjacent to Tabuan Creek are located north of Barangay Del Rosario but accessible through Guinaban because of the existing dirt road and the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) irrigation project that sourced water inside the park. This is the area applied by Mr. Natalia for treasure hunting. However, since the backhoe of Ms. Lo was used for the job, it was presumed that both parties have an informal agreement regarding the excavation.
Figure 6 (above): the resulting pit created by the backhoe in the site
Figure 7: another pit dug by the backhoe. Note the type of loose gravel, sand and fine sediment materials surrounding the pit. These materials are prone to erosion during heavy rains.
Figure 7 above shows the kind of loose materials of gravel, sand and fine sediments surrounding the pit. If many of such pits are dug, erosion will cause siltation of the adjacent Tabuan Creek and other water bodies near the area.
  1. PaSu Cris Rivero also reported that, aside from Ocampo, there were several illegal treasure hunting activities done in MINP. Those that were apprehended were in: Panicuason (Naga City), Curry and Tinangis (Pili), Harubay (Calabanga), and Consocep (Tigaon). An illegal treasure hunter in Curry, Pili, had a set of heavy chains with hooks, the kind used by cranes for lifting heavy loads and a power generator. These equipment were confiscated last Sunday, December 15, this year. It is possible that there are other groups doing the same activity unnoticed and/or unreported because MINP has been suspected by many treasure seekers with or without Japanese contacts to contain Yamashita treasures (page 1 of Verified Research…Attachment of Annex 2).
  2. In terms of social acceptability, several signed documents show the following responses/reactions:
    1. Responses of the indigenous people within the Aeta-Negrito Reservation in Guinaban (Annex 3):
      1. Some tribal members approved treasure hunting
      2. Other tribal members oppose treasure hunting
      3. Some tribal members who signed approval also signed opposing the project.
    2. Open letter of BAGPLAI to all concerned stating their opposition to the treasure hunting activities in the area. (Annex 4)
    3. Letter to INECAR requesting for assistance regarding the problem of treasure hunting in the area. (Annex 5)
    4. Farmers association in Barangay Digdigon of Goa, Camarines Sur opposes treasure hunting (Annex 6)
    5. e) A Joint Resolution/Petition of Sangguniang Barangay/Community Organizer/ Mt. Isarog Guardians Volunteers of Barangays Sto. Nino, Curry and Del Rosario of Pili, Camarines Sur requesting the DENR Secretary Elisia Gozon for a rejection of the issuance of Area Clearance to Mr. Rey Natalia by the Protected Area Management Board (PAMB) [Annexes 7 and 8]
  3. Others approved treasure hunting. Based on an interview with Mr. Roy Layosa, the Information, Education and Communication (IEC) Consultant of PAMB, Mt. Isarog, the Barangay Captain Francisco Barbosa (last page of Annex 3a) of Guinaban is in favor of the project. He was instrumental in obtaining signatures of approval from the Tribal Chieftain Loreto Medrano and his constituents (Annex 3a).

Reasons Why Treasure Hunting Should Not Be Permitted In Mt. Isarog Natural Park


Treasure Hunting should not be permitted in MINP because of ecological and social reasons that can lead to larger environmental problems.

  1. Ecological reasons:
    1. Disturbance to wildlife

      One of the justifications of Mr. Natalia is that the area applied for is only one hectare which is very small considering that Mt. Isarog comprise of 10,112 hectares. However, legally permitting an individual to conduct this kind of activity in an established Natural Park will become a precedent to others and will send a wrong signal that the park is open for exploration. This will cause an increase in treasure hunters and similar activities such as mining that will eventually despoil the natural ecosystem of the whole Mt. Isarog Natural Park.

      Mt. Isarog Natural Park has been established as such because of its tropical rainforest that contains high biodiversity and because it is the watershed of seven surrounding municipalities and one city (Naga City) that provide fresh water for domestic and agricultural needs of human communities. As the largest mountain in Camarines Sur and its central location to the lowland areas in the province, it is also able to regulate climate and local weather.

      In terms of biodiversity, Mt. Isarog is known for its 18 endemic (found only in specific areas) fauna and 8 endemic flora thriving in its forest. This mountain has also been internationally recognized for its high endemism. Some of the its endemic species are shown in Figure 8 below.
Native Deer
Flying Fox
A snake species
Mancacao Monkey
Isarog Butterfly
Isarog Eagle
Pitcher Plant SP 1
Pitcher Plant SP 2
Endemic Annonaceae
Endemic Escalloniaceae
Indigenous Zingiberaceae
Endemic Anacardiaceae

Figure 8: Some examples of the flora and fauna of Mt. Isarog Natural Park
(sources: NIPAP, DENR-PAWB. 2000. MINP General Management Plan; Cardenas et al., 2001)

An increase in the number of treasure hunters will cause disturbance to wildlife which can be in the form of noise generated by machines used in excavation/diggings, habitat destruction by removal of vegetation and overturning of soil and rock strata, and pollution from chemicals used in the process of treasure hunting.

In one study on the biological effects of noise on wildlife, it was described that many species of frogs and insects vocalize together (called biophony) in such a way that no single individual stands out. This was found to be a protective behavior so that predator could not pinpoint an individual. Noise disturbs biophony so that some individuals tend to stand out giving predators like owls an opportunity to catch a prey. http://www.acousticecology.org/wildlandbiology.html

In another example, Bernie Krause (2001) discussed a paper describing the impact of noise in natural environment. He explained that in undisturbed natural environments, creatures vocalize in a way very much like instruments in an orchestra. In healthy habitats, insects, birds, mammals and amphibians occupy different sonic zones (bandwidth) in order to eliminate competition.

NPC Noise Pollution Clearinghouse wrote that noise affects wildlife. The physiological responses range from increase in heart rate damaging effects on metabolism and hormonal balance. Furthermore, excessive stimulation of the nervous system due to long term exposure can result to chronic stress that is harmful to the health and reproductive fitness of wildlife (Fletcher,1990 in http://www.nonoise.org/library/fctsheet/wildlife.htm)

  1. Sedimentation/erosion of some materials downslope

    The type of materials removed from the treasure hunting site indicate loose aggregates of rocks, gravel, sand and fine sediments, the latter being higher in percentage (Figure 7). If the diggings are rampant, these materials will generate large amount of sediments carried by water bodies such as creeks and rivers causing their siltation and eventual destruction as freshwater habitats for aquatic organisms.

B. Social Reasons

    1. Increase destruction to the park due to possible increase in the number of applicants to treasure hunting.

      The activity if approved, will become a precedent to other interested individuals to also dig for an alleged existing treasure in the park. To date, despite earlier diggings such as those in Panicuason and Harubay, there is no known official record of treasure having been found and reported by treasure hunters in Mt. Isarog Natural Park.

      The increase in number of applicants including illegal ones will cause countless diggings in MINP much like what is happening in the gold rush mining in Mt. Diwalwal in Monkayo, Compostela Valley, Davao. The gold rush sparked unregulated and unrestricted diggings for gold. It also resulted to some loses of human lives through violence and theft. Moreover, vegetation were removed, soil and rocks were overturned causing siltation of water bodies, and hazardous chemicals introduced brought about contamination of the area. The miners, instead of going into productive livelihood, considered gold mining as an easy money occupation. (http://www2.gol.com/users/isett/features.pages/diwalwal1.html; http://www.geocities.com/press_re/press-08-23-2002e.htm; http://www.bulalat.com/news/2-30/2-30-caloy1.html

      Even without permits, treasure hunting has already happened in 12 barangays and has been identified by local communities to be a direct threat to biodiversity (TRA Report, 2002). These are in Panicuason (Naga City), Sto. Nino, Curry, and Tinangis (Pili), Guinaban (Ocampo), Gatbo, Oras, Libod; Digdigon (Goa), Hiwacloy (Tigaon), Harubay (Calabanga), and Cawaynan (Tinambac).

    2. Legal bases

      1. Republic Act No. 9147: Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act – it is the policy of the State to conserve the country’s wildlife resources and their habitats for sustainability.

        Under this Act, Mt. Isarog must be protected and conserved because it is a repository of diverse kinds of flora and fauna that must be protected for the present and future generations

      2. REPUBLIC ACT NO. 9147. Article 3 Registration of Threatened and Exotic Species, Chapter IV Illegal Acts Sec. 27. Illegal Acts – unless otherwise allowed in accordance with this Act, it shall be unlawful for any person to willfully and knowingly exploit wildlife resources and their habitats, or undertake the following acts: …..c. effecting any of the following acts in critical habitat(s): ….iii) mineral exploration and/or extraction; vi) quarrying.

        Local people considered treasure hunting as a form of mining due to its extractive nature. Direct observation by local communities describe the impacts to include: a) removal of vegetation, soil, rocks and other aggregates that alters the landscape and leaves the area in disarray; b) during the rainy season, the slurry resulting from loosened soil cause siltation of nearby water bodies such as rivers and creeks. (TRA Report by Care Philipines, 2002)

      3. REPUBLIC ACT NO. 7586. National Integrated Protected Areas System Act of 1992 – see Annex 9

        Sec. 3. Categories include “Natural Park” defined in Sec. 4 as a relatively large area not materially altered by human activity where extractive resource uses are not allowed and maintained to protect outstanding and scenic areas of national or international significance for scientific, educational and recreational use.

        Under this act, the very reason why a park (specifically Natural Park) is created is for the benefit of a bigger majority for scientific, educational and recreational us

    3. Disturbance to people due to noise generated by the machines used in digging pits.
    4. Heavy equipment brought into the area will cause damage to roads in the locality.
    5. No restoration will be done at abandonment phase of the project. Based on the (Initial Environmental Examination (IEE) submitted by Mr. Natalia and prepared by Mr. Petronilo P. Muñez, Jr.), “the impact is permanent”.

Lastly, Mt Isarog is not owned by any individual nor communities immediately around it; not even by government agencies. It is owned by the vast majority of people in Camarines Sur that depend on it as a source of fresh water for domestic, agriculture and industry, for food, for livelihood, medicine, a respite from daily living. Destruction of the park will deprive Bicolanos of the intrinsic value of Mt. Isarog. Biodiversity must also be protected not only in terms of their ecological, scientific and economic values, but also for its own sake as created by God’s love and wonderful kindness in the same reason as He created humans.


Sources:

  1. Cardenas, Lourdes B., Mary Ann O. Cajano, Blas F. Hernaez and Norma O. Aguilar. 2001. Some Flowering Plants on the Southern Slope of Mount Isarog, Camarines Sur, Philippines. University of the Philippines Los Baños, College, Laguna, Philippines.
  2. Care Philippines and DENR-PAO. 2001. Baseline Survey of Mt. Isarog Natural Park’s Priority Species. Mt. Isarog Integrated Conservation and Development (MIICD) Project/Sustainable Management of Mt. Isarog Territories (SUMMIT) Project with support from the British Embassy – Manila, UNDP, BEF and the Commission of the European Communities (European Commision)
  3. Care Philippines. 2002. Threat Reduction Assessment (TRA).
  4. Fletcher, J.L. 1990. Review of noise and terrestrial species: 1983-1988. pp. 181-188 in B. Berglund and T. Lindvall, eds. Noise as a Public Health Problem. Vol. 5: New Advances in Noise Research Part II. Swedish Council for Building Research, Stockholm. http://www.nonoise.org/library/fctsheet/wildlife.htm
  5. Interview with the Park Superintendent (PaSu) Crisostomo Rivero, PENRO Office of Camarines Sur, DENR Region 5
  6. Interview with Roy Layosa, IEC Consultant of PAMB, Mt. Isarog
  7. Initial Environmental Examination (IEE) document submitted by Mr. Reynaldo Natalia
  8. Loss of Natural Soundscapes – a paper given to the World Affairs Council in 2001 by Bernie Krause, Ph.D. http://www.acousticecology.org/wildlandbiology.html
  9. NIPAP, DENR-PAWB. 2000. MINP General Management Plan
  10. Wildlands Issues: the biological effects of noise on wildlife. ©/AcousticEcology.org, 2001. http://www.acousticecology.org/wildlandbiology.html


Prepared by:

EMELINA G. REGIS, Ph.D.
Director
December 18, 2002