DAVAO CITY (PIA) -- Collaborative efforts from local government units, national government agencies, communities, and other stakeholders are put in place to protect Mt. Apo against fire amid El Niño.

According to deputy spokesperson Paul Rodney Arbiol of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Protected Areas Management Board (PAMB), the forest fire onMt. Apo can be either man-made or a natural phenomenon.

During Arbiol’s guesting on Philippine Information Agency’s One Davao virtual presser recently, he said that PAMB has not documented any fire incident in Mt. Apo that happened naturally in the past several years; however, as far as man-made causes are concerned, the latest fire incident   in the area was in 2016, which was allegedly caused by the use of a butane canister.

He stressed that agricultural burning in farming communities also occurs and is a red flag for everyone not to do, especially now that the country is under a long dry spell.

He said most of the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) members and machinery are stationed in Bansalan, Davao del Sur, to respond if ever a fire incident happens in the area. Other partners in preventing the occurrence of fire incidents onMt. Apo are the local government units, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), and the local DRRMOs.

“Tanang ahensya sa pang gamhanan mamahimong kabahin sa estratehiya sa pag-undang sa sunog kung pananglit naay sunog sa Mt. Apo, pinaagi sa pag-apil nila isip kabahin sa Disaster Management Team diin mamahimo silang mga disaster managers ug magamit ang ilang kahibalo sa pagpalong unya sa kalayo,” Arbiol said.

“Mao ni ang gi-declare sa atong nasud, nga protektahan kining lugar tungod sa high value in terms of biodiversity, naa siya ancestral domain, aesthetic value tungod kay daghan natural resources dinhi kinahanglan nato protesiyonan,” Arbiol said.

(The national government has declared this area a protected area because it has high value in terms of biodiversity, the presence of ancestral domains, and aesthetic value due to its natural resources that need protection.)

He revealed that based on their biodiversity monitoring activity, wildlife like deer and wild boars are still present in the area, which they detect through their tracks and litter. They have also documented the presence of hornbills.