Soaked and wet in the strong rain, shivering in the cold winds, and fingers frozen. The thought and fear of getting hypothermia were evident in the faces of those who climbed the stiffness of Mt. Talinis when super typhoon Ondoy hit the country. All of us witnessed, in real time, how destructive the wrath of Mother Nature was.
On that day, I personally felt both happy and angry at the same time. Happy because, alas, I have finally gone back to the mountain which I am so fascinated with. Its beauty as well as its serene and calm ambiance always makes me feel like I am teleported to another time and dimension. My anger began when I saw that many people have abused what the mountain has to offer.
Before we reached Lake Yagumyum, we saw a vast area which we thought to be a product of kaingin. Who is responsible for it? No one knows. We can only suspect that it was an exploit done by those who are affiliated with PNOC. It can be noted that, over the years, the company has been looking for a spot in Mt. Talinis where they can generate steam for power and electricity. They burned a part of the mountain expecting to find steam and left it when they realized a wrong judgment and decision. They don’t even care about replacing the lost trees and plants during the duration of the kaingin. This is the second time that we have seen such depressing scenery in the mountain that we all loved — a mountain that is the home of the only virgin rainforest in Central Visayas. How wrong can these people be? How abusive and cruel can they get?
Then, when we reached the Lake, a number of Tanduay bottles (approximately 20), empty packs of cheap brand of cigarettes, tin cans, and plastics were all scattered around the area. What used to be a clean place with fresh air now seemed to be a potentially emerging Smokey Mountain in its literal sense.
A tired feeling mixed with frustrations and fury was what most of us felt as we trek back. What was planned to be a fun and fulfilling nature trip turned out to be an eye opener. We all felt fear that one of these days we will never be able to see picturesque sceneries in Mt. Talinis. Besides that, we were tormented by an alarming fright that when Mt. Talinis gets destroyed settlements in Valencia, Bacong, Dauin, Dumaguete, and other neighboring towns and cities will suffer from great floods and landslides soon.
As we faced and struggled with typhoon Ondoy in Mt. Talinis, it felt as if Mother Nature has already taken its course to raise punishment upon those who abused the blessings and bounties she bestowed atop the human race. Just like our own mothers, Mother Nature nurtured and cared for us. But now, she seemed to have shown her fury to the sons and daughters who acted contrary to her wishes.
The Philippines is currently in distress due to the devastating effects of two strong typhoons that passed by the country. A lot of people blamed the strong winds and heavy rains on the global warming happening today. True! I couldn’t disagree with that. However, we could have minimized its harmful effects if we have only cared for our environment. If we only protected our trees and cleaned our environment so that drainage systems and rivers wouldn’t clogged up, floods in Manila and other parts of the country could have been prevented.
Pinpointing who should be blamed and regrets will never help us now. But, it is never too late to change. As strong and willful as we are, Filipinos can still recover from this tragedies. Let us change our ways and put a stop to our abusive acts on Mother Nature’s creation. We can start by planting trees and maintaining a clean and orderly environment. For the Negrenses, let us start by protecting our own Mt. Talinis. Let us save what is left of it so that we can continue to enjoy its protection and nurturing. This can be the best gift we can give to our children and to our grandchildren. Most importantly, this is the best way to repay Mother Nature for its kindness and love to the human race.
